# Buryakov Spy Ring The **Buryakov Spy Ring** was a Russian foreign-intelligence ([[SVR]]) operation in New York broken up by the FBI in January 2015. It matters to the Trump–Russia story because one of its officers had tried to recruit future Trump adviser [[Carter Page]]. ## The officers - **Evgeny Buryakov** worked under non-official cover as deputy representative of [[Vnesheconombank]]'s New York office. He had earlier been posted in Pretoria (2004–2009). He was arrested on January 26, 2015. - **Igor Sporyshev**, a Russian trade representative in New York (2010–2014), and **Victor Podobnyy**, an attaché at Russia's UN mission (2012–2013), were charged but had left the U.S. under diplomatic immunity. Their SVR taskings included gathering information on potential U.S. sanctions against Russian banks and on U.S. alternative-energy efforts. ## Outcome Buryakov pleaded guilty on March 11, 2016 and was sentenced on May 25, 2016 to 30 months and a $100,000 fine. He was released early on March 31, 2017 and deported on April 5, 2017. ## "Male-1" In April 2017 it was reported that Carter Page was the "Male-1" of the 2015 complaint: Podobnyy had been in contact with him since 2013 and discussed him as a recruitment target. Page was never charged. ## Significance The case establishes VEB as a platform for Russian intelligence before [[Jared Kushner]] met its chairman during the transition, and it is part of the counterintelligence background to the FBI's later interest in Page under [[Crossfire Hurricane]]. ## See Also - [[Carter Page]] - [[Vnesheconombank]] - [[SVR]]