Federal prosecutors unsealed charges on September 15, 2026, against five individuals accused of carrying out terrorism financing and murder-for-hire schemes on behalf of Russian Federation intelligence services, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
The five defendants allegedly planned attacks and killings across multiple countries, including inside the United States, according to the Justice Department. The charges cover both the funding of terrorist activity and the arrangement of paid killings.
The announcement came jointly from DOJ and FBI leadership. Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg, who leads the department's national security division, were among the officials involved. Jamie McDonald, the U.S. attorney whose office covers the Southern District of New York, also participated in the announcement, as did FBI Director Kash Patel.
The charges were filed in the Southern District of New York. James C. Barnacle, Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, and Darren B. Cox, who holds the same role at the FBI's Washington Field Office, were also part of the joint announcement, the Justice Department said.