In 2022, Russian illegals (intelligence officer under deep cover) were discovered using a variety of nationalities, including Brazilian, Dutch, and Swedish citizenships for their cover legends. Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, was arrested in the Netherlands in June 2022 while using a Brazilian identity. The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) drug Cherkasov and the GRU (Russian military intelligence) through the public trough when they published notes on his clandestine activity. Then they sent him packing to Brazil where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud, obtaining, and using that false Brazilian identity. The U.S. has indicted Cherkasov. Meanwhile Russia declares him a heroin trafficker and is trying to extradite him before the U.S. is able to do so.
Cherkasov U.S. connection
As we noted in our prior piece on Cherkasov, he also spent a stint in the U.S., building his cover legend and ingratiating himself in the national security milieu in the Washington D.C. area while obtaining a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins. His focus: “American Foreign Policy and International Economics” and a minor in “Conflict Management.” Oh, the irony.
It was during his time in the States that we now learn he came to the attention of the FBI, and provides the impetus for Cherkasov being indicted by the Department of Justice, whose criminal complaint fingers him as an “illegal agent” of the Russian Federation intelligence services. The complaint goes on to explain how Cherkasov acted as a spotter for Russian intelligence. He also was very proud of himself in the building of his Brazilian identity, and according to the complaint boasted how easy it was to infiltrate the United States, writing “We fucking did it!!!! AAAAA”. He went on to share how he believed that his prospect of obtaining U.S. citizenship was “fantastic.”
The neutralization of Cherkasov, who was attempting to secure a position within the International Criminal Court, was fortuitous, and no doubt had the unseen hand of the Justice Department providing information to AIVD. The Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, David Sundberg sums it up best, “For years, Cherkasov worked as an illegal agent for a Russian intelligence service and committed fraud against the United States. Today’s criminal complaint is a result of the hard work, determination, and collaborative efforts of the FBI and our international partners in a complex investigation holding him accountable for his attempts to collect intelligence on the United States at the behest of the Russian government.”
Russia’s efforts in Brazil
The U.S. has not yet begun the process to request Cherkasov’s extradition from Brazil, but the Russian Federation is working overtime to get him shipped back to Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry is spinning a tall tale about Cherkasov. They claim that he is a “wanted heroin trafficker who fled Russia to avoid prison.” Indeed, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is heading to Brazil this month and the extradition of Cherkasov is on the list of items he wishes to discuss.
One must ask, was the recent arrest of U.S. citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, Russia’s action to ensure they have a card to play if Lavrov is unsuccessful during his visit in April? It is a tactic used before. One need only look back to September 1986 when the then KGB arrested a well respected journalist, Nick Daniloff, of the U.S. News & World Report, under false pretenses in retaliation for the U.S. arrest of Gennadi Zakharov who was a Russian serving at the U.N.
Russian illegals dropping like flies
Russia intelligence services are smarting from the West counterintelligence efforts which resulted in the 2022 expulsions of hundreds of officers and the identification and neutralization of a number of Russian illegals. For example, in October 2022, a man living under the false identity of a Brazilian named José Assis Giammaria was arrested in Norway, his true name is Mikhail Valerievich Mikushin. And in December 2022, a Russian couple was arrested in Sweden on suspicion of espionage. The couple were using Swedish identities. It would appear either an illegal support officer from within the Russian services has walked out the door with a book full of legends being used around the world, or the tradecraft used by the Russian’s isn’t as good as many have given them credit.
