Russian-American national tied to Putin charged with acting as foreign agent

A dual Russian-American citizen has been charged with acting illegally as a Russian agent in the United States, federal prosecutors in New York announced on Tuesday.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Elena Branson was charged with acting and conspiring to act in the United States illegally as an agent of the Russian government, willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), as well as conspiring to commit visa fraud and making false statements to the FBI.

After receiving high-level Russian government approval, the 61-year-old launched a Russian propaganda center in New York City in 2012 and helped push an “I Love Russia” campaign – a move allegedly meant to help the Russian government advance Russian interests in the U.S. by coordinating meetings between Russian officials and American lawmakers and business leaders.

She also served as the chairperson of the Russian Community Council of the USA, an organization meant to promote Russian history and culture amongst American youths.

Prosecutors further allege that Branson’s Russian Center New York received tens of thousands of dollars in funding from the Russian government and took direct orders from Russian officials concerning events and public messaging,” CNN reported.

“Elena Branson actively subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States in order to promote Russian policies and ideology,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. 

“The Russian government at its highest levels, up to and including President Vladimir Putin, have made known that aggressive propaganda and recruitment of the Russian diaspora around the world is a Russian priority.  In connection with this pursuit, Branson is alleged to have corresponded with Putin himself and met with a high-ranking Russia minister before founding a Russian propaganda center here in New York City,” he added.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll added that Branson’s case “highlights the breadth of Russia's relentless intelligence and malign influence activities targeting the United States.”

“At the direction of the Russian government, she led a years long campaign to identify the next generation of American leaders, cultivate information channels, and shape US policy in favor of Russian objectives,” he added.

The charges against Branson were issued as tensions between Washington and the Kremlin continue to escalate amid Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said that Branson is alleged to have corresponded with Russian Vladimir Putin, and met with a high-ranking Russian minister before founding a "propaganda center" in New York City.

"Branson's promotional outreach, including an 'I Love Russia' campaign aimed at American youths, exemplifies her attempts to act at the behest of the Russian government to illegally promote its interests in the United States," Williams said in a statement. 

"Particularly given current global events, the need to detect and hinder attempts at foreign influence is of critical importance, and the Southern District of New York is proud to do its part in the fight against tyranny," he added. 

Branson was interviewed by the FBI in September 2020 and denied all claims that she was a Russian agent. The FBI subsequently carried out a search of her organization’s offices in 2020 and Branson flew to Moscow shortly after.

Prosecutors allege that she did an interview with Russian state media in 2021 and said she left the U.S. because she was “scared” and believed she would have been arrested had she stayed in the country.