Russian citizen sentenced in US for economic espionage
On the 25th of May, the deputy representative of the Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs, Evgeny Buryakov, received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for economic espionage while in the US. He was also fined $10,000 for the crime.
According to AP news agency, the Russian received sensitive information concerning possible US sanctions against Russian banks between 2012 and 2015. Buryakov also received information on the development of alternative energy programs.
Buryakov had previously admitted that he worked with an accomplice in Russia’s trade mission to New York to gather this information.
As a result of a plea deal, one of the charges against Buryakov was dropped. The prosecution the decided that the appropriate punishment would be a prison term of 30 months and a fine ranging between $10,0000 and $100,000.
The press service of the bank reported that the maximum sentence for this crime is a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000.
Buryakov was detained on the 26th of January 2015. His sentence will include time spent in custody allowing him to be released in March 2017. He may then be deported.