THE TELEGRAPH: The 11 people accused of spying for Russia have been formally charged, amid claims the US and Russia are planning to carry out a Cold War-style 'spy swap'.
US Justices ordered two suspects detained in Boston and three in the Washington area to be transferred to New York, where they will join five already there at the next court hearing at the end of the month.
They are all accused of “conspiring to act as secret agents in the United States on behalf of the Russian Federation and nine of these individuals with conspiracy to commit money laundering,” the formal indictment said.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years for money laundering and five for the conspiracy allegations.
It comes amid reports the Kremlin is planning to hand over Igor Sutyagin, a Russian academic jailed for spying for the CIA in 2004, as well as Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence jailed for spying for Britain in 2006, in return for the release of the alleged Russian spies. The names of the other "exchangees" were not disclosed. >>> Andrew Osborn in Moscow | Thursday, July 08, 2010
