Wanted Propagandist, Banker Outed As Russian Spy Remains At Large On US Soil

A 61-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Russia charged for acting as an illegal agent of the Kremlin remains at large after moving from New York to Russia roughly a year and a half ago, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday.

Elena Branson, who is alleged “to have corresponded with Putin himself” and ran an “I Love Russia” youth outreach campaign, faces six criminal counts, including a charge for allegedly participating in a visa fraud conspiracy and making false statements to the FBI, the Daily Beast reported.

She is also charged with evading registration with the U.S. government as a foreign agent, an offense sometimes described as “espionage-lite.”

For years, 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.

Prosecutors accuse Branson of trying to conceal details that the organization she founded in 2012, the Russian Center New York, was backed by tens of thousands of dollars in funding from the Kremlin, according to the Daily Mail.

Ultimately, the Russian government instructed the suspect on what to do with that money, prosecutors asserted.

The organization, per its mission statement, celebrates and shares Russian cultural heritage for the enrichment of the community, aiming to improve Russo-American relations.

On Monday, Manhattan federal prosecutors called the firm “a Russian propaganda center” that aimed to spread the Kremlin’s influence in the U.S., the New York Post noted.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

To pursue that goal, Branson “corresponded with Putin himself and met with a high-ranking Russia minister” before founding RCNY over a decade ago, Williams added.

In 2020, when police raided her home, Branson “falsely claimed” she had never been asked by the Russian government to coordinate meetings between American entrepreneurs and politicians and Moscow officials.

Prosecutors said the woman did so despite knowing she was legally required to declare her background as part of an 83-year-old Foreign Agents Registration Act. Shortly afterward, Branson fled to Russia under duress and has remained on the lam ever since.