A federal court in New York has sentenced Evgeny Buryakov, an employee of the local representative office of the Russian Bank for Development (Vneshekonombank), to 2.5 years in person for espionage for Russia. This was reported on Wednesday by RIA Novosti.
According to the verdict, Buryakov will be spared the year and four months that he spent under arrest. At the end of his prison term, he will be deported from the country with no right to return. The Russian just also pay a fine in the amount of 10,000 dollars.
Buryakov was arrested in New York in January, 2015 on charges of illegally working for a foreign government in the USA and for conspiring to this end. According to Interfax Agency, he was accused of using banking activity as a cover for his secret collection of economic information.
In March of this year, Buryakov pleaded guilty that he acted as a foreign agent without notifying local authorities. The maximum penalty under the relevant article is up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000 dollars.
Source: fort-russ.com
