Who was involved in Russia prisoner swap: An assassin, hacker, suspected spies and more
A hitman, a hacker, a weapons dealer, suspected spies and more were among eight individuals sought by Russia in a historic prisoner swap that saw 24 prisoners freed.
Russia received eight criminals in a historic prisoner swap that saw a total of 24 detainees released in a complex deal involving seven nations, including the U.S. and Germany.
Here is a look at the faces of evil that were allowed to return to Russia in the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War:
The top pick on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wish list for the swap was hit man Vadim Krasikov, who used the alias Vadim Sokolov. He was convicted by a German court for the 2019 assassination of a former Chechen commander near Berlin’s parliamentary building.
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He apparently carried out the assassination on the orders of Moscow’s security services.
Roman Seleznev, the son of a member of the Russian Parliament, was sentenced to 27 years in prison after he was convicted of hacking into more than 500 U.S. businesses and stealing millions of credit card numbers.
He was also sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
Vadim Konoshchenok, a Russian citizen with alleged ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), was accused of providing U.S.-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military.
He was extradited from Estonia to the U.S. last month.
"As alleged, the defendant was a critical participant in a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition in furtherance of Russia's war efforts and weapons development, violating U.S. export controls, economic sanctions and other criminal statues," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace wrote in a press release at the time. "Let this case serve as the latest example that no matter where you are in the world, if you violate U.S. export controls or evade U.S. sanctions, we will not rest until you face justice in a U.S. courtroom."
Vladislav Klyushin, a Russian businessman, was convicted for his involvement in an elaborate hack-to-trade scheme that netted approximately $93 million through securities trades based on confidential corporate information stolen from U.S. computer networks.
In February 2023, Klyushin was convicted by a federal jury of securities fraud, wire fraud, gaining unauthorized access to computers and conspiracy to commit those crimes.
He was arrested in Switzerland in March 2021 and extradited to the U.S. later that year.
Pavel Rubtsov was identified as a Russian spy by Poland’s Internal Security Agency in 2022. He was working as a journalist for Spanish media under the fake name Pablo Gonzalez. He was arrested on espionage charges in eastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border, in the first days after Russia’s full-scale-invasion.
Artem Dultzev and Anna Dultseva are a Russian couple that were arrested on espionage charges in Slovenia in 2022.
Posing as Argentine citizens, they reportedly had used Slovenia as a base since 2017 to travel to neighboring countries and relay Moscow’s orders to other Russian sleeper agents.
They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 19 months in prison. They were released on time served. The couple is said to have two children.
Mikhail Mikushin was arrested in Norway in 2022 on espionage charges.
According to Norwegian investigators, he was living in the country under a fake identity while working for Russia's intelligence service.
He allegedly entered the country claiming to be a Brazilian citizen.
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The historic exchange freed three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza
President Biden called the prisoner swap deal a "feat of diplomacy."
"We’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia — including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over," the White House said in a press release.
Fox News is told that one hour before Biden announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of this year's presidential race, he was on the phone with his Slovenian counterpart urging them to make final arrangements to get the deal over the finish line.
Biden spoke individually with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to thank them for their partnership on the historic deal that brought home Americans and others detained in Russia.
The president expressed his appreciation for their support during the complex negotiations and active engagement throughout the process to achieve this monumental release.
However, a top Republican warned on Thursday that the Biden administration's choice to trade Russian criminals for detained Americans could be sending a "dangerous message" to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, joined others in celebrating the releases, saying he was "thrilled" to hear the detained Americans were coming home.
"But I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages further hostage taking by his regime," he added.
Biden is expected to greet the returned prisoners at Joint Base Andrews Thursday evening.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News Digital's Greg Norman, Julia Johnson, David Rutz, Brian Flood, and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
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