NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A dual citizen of Russia who founded a propaganda center in New York and helped push an "I love Russia" campaign was charged by the FBI on Tuesday for acting as an illegal agent of the Kremlin.
Elena Branson, the alleged spy, started the Russian Center New York in Manhattan in 2012, backed and authorized by the highest levels of the Russian government, including President Vladimir Putin who she corresponded with, according to Manhattan prosecutors.
Branson's center received thousands of dollars in funding from the Russian government, which targeted Russian youth to spread the Kremlin's influence across the country, prosecutors state.
"As alleged, Branson engaged in a wide-ranging influence and lobbying scheme with funding and direction from the Russian government – all while deliberately leaving the American people in the dark," Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said. "The Department will continue to expose these serious crimes and shine a light on foreign malign influence."
United States v Elena Branson Complaint 22 Mag 2178 1 by Emily Nadal on Scribd
Along with failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, prosecutors claim Branson also helped arrange meetings between Russian and US government officials, including a former New York State Senator, helped falsely obtain visas for Russian officials to enter the United States and ran a 2019 campaign to lobby Hawaiian officials against changing the name of the last surviving formerly Russian fort in Hawaii.
"This case highlights the breadth of Russia's relentless intelligence and malign influence activities targeting the United States," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll.
The FBI interviewed Branson in September of 2020 during which she denied that she had been asked to coordinate meetings between Russian and U.S. officials. She then fled the country back to Russia following the meeting.
In an October 2021 T.V. interview once Branson was back home in Russia, she stated she left the United States because "she thought it was likely that she would be arrested," prosecutors said.
Branson has been charged with six counts, including conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General, and remains at large.
