Ten alleged members of a Russian spy-ring have been charged in the US with
acting as foreign agents.
The suspects are accused of posing as ordinary citizens, some living together
as couples for years.
They were charged with conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of a foreign
government, a crime which carries up to five years in prison.
A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said the allegations were contradictory.
"We are studying the information. There are a lot of contradictions," spokesman
Igor Lyakin-Frolov told the AFP news agency, declining further comment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said Moscow expected Washington to
provide an explanation over the the spying row, Russia's Interfax news agency
reports.
Nine of the alleged spies also face a charge of conspiracy to launder money,
which carries a 20-year prison sentence.
An 11th suspect remains at large, according to the US justice department.
'Deep cover'
Analysis
Kim Ghattas,
BBC News, Washington
So what were the alleged spies up to? The Department of Justice has made clear
that none of the information at stake was classified. Most of what the alleged
spies were after seems almost anodyne.
While the incident does not look good for the Russians, the initial US reaction
has been sanguine.
Russian spy stories may be a throwback to the Cold War and sound alarming but
they probably don't surprise anyone in Washington, especially not in the
government.
US officials who travel to Moscow routinely turn off their BlackBerries and
leave them on the plane to make sure data on their phones remains out of reach
of any tech-savvy Russian intelligence agents.
Cold War meets 'burger summit'
Alleged intercepted messages in court documents suggest they were asked to find
information on topics including nuclear weapons, US arms control positions,
Iran, White House rumours, CIA leadership turnover, and political parties.
The US Department of Justice says eight of the suspects allegedly carried out
"long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments" on US soil, working in civilian jobs so
as not to arouse suspicion.
They were allegedly trained by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)
to infiltrate policy-making circles and collect information, according to court
papers filed in the US court for the southern district of New York.
They were told to befriend US officials and send information using various
methods to Russian government handlers.
US officials said the spy-ring was discovered in a "multi-year investigation"
by FBI agents who posed as Russian handlers and gleaned information from two of
the suspects.
'Invisible ink'
Investigators say some of the agents had been using false identities since the
early 1990s, using codes and engaging in advanced computer operations,
including posting apparently innocent pictures on the internet which contained
hidden text.
Continue reading the main story
Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc - all these serve one goal:
fulfil your main mission, ie to search and develop ties in policymaking circles
in US and send intels
District Court complaint District Court complaint 1 [PDF] District Court
complaint 2 [PDF] The FBI's 'spy novel' allegations
The FBI also reported observing older techniques, such as messages sent by
invisible ink, money being buried next to a beer-bottle marker and "brush
pasts" in parks, where agents swap identical bags as they pass each other.
"You were sent to USA for long-term service trip," says one purported message
to two of the suspects that was intercepted by US intelligence.
"Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc - all these serve one goal:
fulfil your main mission, ie to search and develop ties in policymaking circles
in US and send intels."
Generally, spies were allegedly tasked with becoming "Americanised" to be able
to do this, with some pursuing university degrees, holding jobs, and joining
relevant professional associations, court documents said.
The group allegedly got close to a scientist involved in designing
bunker-busting bombs and a top former intelligence official.
Court appearances
Five of the suspects briefly appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Monday,
where a judge ordered them to remain in prison until a preliminary hearing set
for 27 July.
Map of USA
These included a couple known as "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy", who
were arrested in Montclair, New Jersey; Vicky Pelaez and a man known as "Juan
Lazaro," who were arrested in Yonkers, New York state; and Anna Chapman, who
was arrested in Manhattan, New York City.
Another three - Mikhail Semenko and a couple known as "Michael Zottoli" and
"Patricia Mills" - appeared in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, after
being arrested in Arlington, Virginia.
The final two people - a couple known as "Donald Howard Heathfield" and "Tracey
Lee Ann Foley" - were arrested in Boston, Massachusetts, and appeared in a
federal court in the city.
A suspect known as "Christopher R Metsos" remains at large.
All the suspects except Ms Chapman and Mr Semenko have also been charged with
conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed in recent months.
Last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in Washington having lunch
with President Barack Obama.
A senior government official told the BBC that it was unfortunate that such
activity was taking place in the US, but that it should not affect the momentum
established in the relationship with Russia.