The United States accused in the last hours of espionage a Russian citizen who, hiding behind a Brazilian identity, studied at a university in Washington and tried to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, local media reported today.
The Justice Department’s indictment for Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov suggests the United States will try to challenge his eventual extradition to Russia from Brazil, where he is currently jailed on identity fraud charges.
Cherkasov, 39, was arrested at the beginning of April 2022 by the Dutch authorities for using false identity documents.
The man came to the Netherlands as the Brazilian Viktor Muller Ferrerira, to enter the ICC as a junior analyst, the AFP news agency reported.
However, the police of the European country determined that he was not Brazilian, but an agent of the Central Intelligence Department of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU).
He was considered an “illegal,” a spy who lives undercover abroad for several years and comes to develop a completely new identity.
This included spending 2018-2020 pursuing international studies master’s programs at John Hopkins University in the United States, according to the indictment and the suspect’s resume posted online.
The Netherlands says that if Cherkasov had worked for the ICC he could have had access to “high-value” intelligence in the Ukraine war crimes investigation or influenced criminal proceedings at the Hague-based court.
He was deported to Brazil on April 3, where he was charged with identity fraud, and in July was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
However, in September Moscow formally required Brasilia to deport him to Russia, where he was allegedly wanted for drug trafficking.
The US Department of Justice now accuses him of acting as an agent of a foreign power while in the United States.
According to the Justice Department, when he was a student in Washington, the man collected information on Americans and gave it to his superiors.
In addition, he was accused of carrying out bank, postal and visa fraud, among other charges that stem from his activities in the United States.
It is not yet clear if the Justice Department will seek his extradition from Brazil.
Source: Ambito
