The U.S. Department of Justice announced on September 15 that five individuals had been charged with conspiring to finance acts of terrorism and murder for hire. Prosecutors identified the group as operating since at least 2024, recruiting operatives to surveil and kill Russian dissidents in the United States and Europe. While U.S. prosecutors have not publicly named Kasparov in the indictment, identifying one U.S.-based target as “Victim-1,” a source close to the former champion stated that American officials confirmed his status as a specific target of the network.
According to the indictment, members of the network instructed a U.S.-based man to surveil a Russian dissident believed to be in Washington. The individual provided photographs and video footage of relevant locations but refused an offer of $40,000 to carry out the killing. Prosecutors stated that after the refusal, the network asked if another individual could perform the task. The planned killing was not carried out. In a separate instance in 2025, another U.S. citizen was paid $200 to photograph the address of a man accused of “lying about Russia,” with one defendant offering approximately $25,000 for the assassination after the initial surveillance request.
El Mundo, citing sources, reported that preparations to kill former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev were at a more advanced stage than those targeting Kasparov. Ponomarev, who was the only member of Russia’s State Duma to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014, later joined Ukraine’s territorial defense. The report also indicated that another potential victim was targeted in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the plan involved an ambush using a stabbing or fire. The victims in Lithuania may have included opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, as well as Ivan Tyutrin and Ruslan Gabbasov, both associated with the Free Russian Forum.
The five defendants, who remain at large, include Yury Khrameev, a former colonel in Russia’s security services; his son Kirill Khrameev, an FSB officer; Cuban nationals Oemis Romagoza Durruthy and Yaidel Delgado Suarez; and Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro. The group allegedly used coded language, referring to surveillance as “measuring the land” and the planned killing as “construction.” The network is described as having previously organized sabotage attacks in Europe using recruited criminals and local operatives, marking a significant expansion of such operations to U.S. soil.
Kasparov, 63, held the world chess title from 1985 to 2000 and retired from professional play in 2005. He remains active in the chess community, most recently playing a Chess960 match against Grandmaster Veselin Topalov. Since leaving Russia, he has become a prominent critic of the Kremlin. Russia designated him a “foreign agent” in 2022, added him to its list of “terrorists and extremists” in 2024, and ordered his arrest in absentia the same year. Russian state media reported in May that he was placed on an international wanted list in December.
The charges against the five men have yet to be proven in court. The next phase of the case will involve judicial proceedings to establish the extent of the network’s activities and the specific targets intended for harm in the United States and Europe.
