A woman with dual Russian-American citizenship who ran an organization with the mission of spreading Russian propaganda has been charged with acting as a spy in the US.
Elena Branson, 61, was charged Tuesday with acting and conspiring to act in the US illegally as an agent of the Russian government, willfully failing to register as a foreign agent, conspiring to commit visa fraud and making false statements to the FBI, according to the criminal complaint.
Beginning in at least 2011, Branson worked for the Russian government to advance Russian interests in the US, according to the complaint.
She accomplished this by coordinating meetings for Russian officials to lobby US politicians and businesspeople, in addition to operating organizations that promoted the interests of the Russian government.
Branson created the Russia Center New York in Manhattan in 2012 after receiving the authorization from the highest levels of the Russian government.
While creating the organization she reportedly even corresponded with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had input in the group’s construction, Manhattan prosecutors allege.
Prosecutors have accused Branson of trying to hide the fact that her organization was backed by tens of thousands of dollars in funding from the Russian government, who would also tell her how to spend that money.
Her organization hosted an annual youth forum and other events to promote Russian history and culture to young Americans. Branson was also the chairperson of the Russian Community Council of the USA, which was allegedly funded by Russian government entities. For that organization she coordinated an ‘I Love Russia’ campaign aimed at swaying American youth in Russia’s favor.
Branson, who is also known as Elena Chernykh, reportedly left America in 2020. She was born in the Soviet Union and emigrated to the US when she was 30, in 1991. She became a US citizen in 1999, according to court documents. She has been at large since 2020.
The charges come as tensions between the US and Russia continue to grow following Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine last month, and just hours after President Joe Biden announced the US would ban oil imports from Russia. The action, according to Biden, would completely cut off ‘the main artery’ of the Russian economy.
The charges against Branson were announced after the unsealing of a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday.
‘Elena Branson… actively subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States in order to promote Russian policies and ideology,’ said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
‘Particularly given current global events, the need to detect and hinder attempts at foreign influence is of critical importance, and the Southern District of New York is proud to do its part in the fight against tyranny,’ he added.
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