Цитата:
FBI spy bust reveals alleged Russian op on aircraft sale
An alleged spy ring investigated a multi-billion dollar deal to sell and assemble “mid-range” commercial aircraft in Russia in 2013, the FBI claims in a legal complaint unsealed by a US federal court on 26 January.
The proposed deal involved an aircraft company based outside the USA and Russia, according to the FBI complaint filed. The foreign company was negotiating to sell dozens of aircraft to a state-owned Russian company on the condition the aircraft would be manufactured at a new factory in Russia, the complaint says.
The FBI document does not identify the foreign company or the state-owned Russian firm, but the timing and the terms of transaction are similar to a failed bid by Bombardier to sell up to 100 Q400 turboprop aircraft to Ilyushin Finance and assemble the aircraft in Ulyanovsk.
The FBI charged Evgeny Buryakov, an employee of a Russian bank in New York City, on one charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government in the USA without notifying the US attorney general. The FBI also charged two alleged Russian Foreign Intelligence Service officers – Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy – of aiding and abetting Buryakov.
The 25-page unsealed complaint covers multiple intelligence operations allegedly carried out by Buryakov and his two alleged handlers, including a three-page description of the aircraft manufacturing deal.
The FBI claims to have recorded conversations between Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobnyy regarding the aircraft deal, which included a proposal to “influence the course of the negotiations in Russia’s favour”.
Posing as a New York-based Russian banker, the FBI claims, Buryakov met with a senior executive for the foreign aircraft manufacturer involved in the negotiations with the Russian company.
Based on those confidential meetings, Buryakov crafted a proposal for Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service to launch a covert operation aimed at pressuring the labour unions in the foreign country who were resisting the deal, the FBI complaint says. The proposal was then discussed by Sporyshev and Podobnyy in a conversation recorded by the FBI, according to the complaint.
The legal complaint did not indicate whether such an operation was carried out.
Bombardier signed a memorandum of understanding with Ilyushin Finance in August 2013 to sell 100 Q400s on the condition the two companies agreed on a plan to assemble the aircraft in Russia. By mid-2014, however, Bombardier executives publicly abandoned the negotiations and turned instead to China for more Q400 sales.
Вход
Регистрация
FAQ
Поиск
