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Criminal Complaint 1
Criminal Complaint 1
SEALED
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COMPLAINT
-v. - Violation of
18 U.S.C. § .371
ANNA CHAPMAN, a n d
MIKHAIL SEMENKO,
COUNTY OF OFFENSE:
Defendants. NEW YORK
COUNT ONE
C o n s p i r a c y t o A c t a s U n r e g i s t e r e d Agents o f a F o r e i g n Government
2. I t was a p a r t and an o b j e c t o f t h e c o n s p i r a c y t h a t
ANNA CHAPMAN a n d MIKHAIL SEMENKO, t h e d e f e n d a n t s , a n d o t h e r s
known and unknown, u n l a w f u l l y , w i l l f u l l y and k n o w i n g l y , w o u l d and
d i d a c t i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s as a g e n t s o f a f o r e i g n government,
s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e Russian Federation, w i t h o u t p r i o r n o t i f i c a t i o n
t o t h e A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l , as r e q u i r e d by l a w , i n v i o l a t i o n o f
T i t l e 18, U n i t e d S t a t e s Code, S e c t i o n 9 5 1 .
Overt A c t s
3. I n f u r t h e r a n c e o f t h e c o n s p i r a c y and t o e f f e c t t h e
i l l e g a l o b j e c t t h e r e o f , t h e f o l l o w i n g o v e r t a c t s , among o t h e r s ,
were c o m m i t t e d i n t h e S o u t h e r n D i s t r i c t o f New Y o r k and
elsewhere:
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1
i n t e l l i g e n c e o r g a n o f t h e Russian F e d e r a t i o n ( t h e "SVR"). The
t a r g e t s o f t h e FBI's i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n c l u d e c o v e r t SVR agents who
assume f a l s e i d e n t i t i e s , and who a r e l i v i n g i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
on l o n g - t e r m , " d e e p - c o v e r " assignments. These R u s s i a n s e c r e t
agents work t o h i d e a l l c o n n e c t i o n s between t h e m s e l v e s and
Russia, even as t h e y a c t a t t h e d i r e c t i o n and under t h e c o n t r o l
o f t h e SVR; t h e s e s e c r e t agents a r e t y p i c a l l y c a l l e d " i l l e g a l s . "
As s e t f o r t h i n more d e t a i l i n t h e a t t a c h e d C o m p l a i n t , see
Attachment A, w h i c h i s i n c o r p o r a t e d by r e f e r e n c e h e r e i n , i l l e g a l s
r e c e i v e e x t e n s i v e t r a i n i n g by t h e SVR b e f o r e b e i n g a s s i g n e d t o a
f o r e i g n c o u n t r y u n d e r a f a l s e i d e n t i t y t o o p e r a t e on b e h a l f o f
Russia. See C o m p l a i n t 8-9 ( d e s c r i b i n g i l l e g a l s ' t r a i n i n g , and
use o f f a l s e i d e n t i t i e s ) .
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The SVR h e a d q u a r t e r s i n Moscow i s known as "Moscow
Center" or "Center."
3
9. Based on t h e f a c t s s e t f o r t h below, I b e l i e v e
t h a t ANNA CHAPMAN and MIKHAIL SEMENKO, t h e d e f e n d a n t s , a r e p a r t
o f t h e s u b s e t o f I l l e g a l s who, as d e s c r i b e d above i n Paragraph
7, o p e r a t e under t h e i r t r u e names.
10. I am aware t h a t f e d e r a l l a w r e q u i r e s i n d i v i d u a l s
who a r e a c t i n g as a g e n t s f o r f o r e i g n governments t o n o t i f y t h e
Attorney General o f t h e United States. The Department o f
J u s t i c e ("DOJ") m a i n t a i n s f i l e s o f a l l i n d i v i d u a l s who have
r e g i s t e r e d as a g e n t s o f f o r e i g n governments. A recently-
c o n d u c t e d r e v i e w o f DOJ f i l e s i n d i c a t e s t h a t ANNA CHAPMAN and
MIKHAIL SEMENKO, t h e d e f e n d a n t s , have n e v e r n o t i f i e d t h e DOJ
t h a t he o r she i s an agent o f t h e R u s s i a n F e d e r a t i o n .
2
A MAC a d d r e s s i s a u n i q u e i d e n t i f y i n g number a s s i g n e d
by a m a n u f a c t u r e r t o e l e c t r o n i c c o m m u n i c a t i o n s d e v i c e s , such as
l a p t o p computers a n d W i - F i n e t w o r k c a r d s . A l l computers t h a t
access t h e i n t e r n e t t h r o u g h a w i r e l e s s n e t w o r k do so b y p u b l i c l y
b r o a d c a s t i n g t h e i r MAC addresses v i a r a d i o t r a n s m i s s i o n i n o r d e r
t o l o c a t e a d e v i c e connected t o t h e i n t e r n e t .
4
e x c h a n g i n g d a t a . The d a t a can be e n c r y p t e d so t h a t i t can o n l y
be r e a d w i t h t h e a i d o f s p e c i a l i z e d d e c r y p t i o n s o f t w a r e , s i m i l a r
t o t h a t used t o d e c r y p t messages h i d d e n t h r o u g h s t e g a n o g r a p h y ,
as d e s c r i b e d i n t h e C o m p l a i n t a t t a c h e d h e r e t o .
a. On J a n u a r y 20, 2010, l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n t s ,
a c t i n g pursuant t o j u d i c i a l orders,
p e r f o r m e d v i d e o s u r v e i l l a n c e on a c o f f e e
th
shop l o c a t e d near t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n o f 4 7
th
S t r e e t and 8 Avenue i n M a n h a t t a n , New York
(the " C o f f e e Shop"). CHAPMAN was s e a t e d
near t h e window o f t h e C o f f e e Shop and had
w i t h h e r a bag ( t h e " T o t e B a g " ) . After
approximately t e n minutes, I observed a
m i n i v a n pass b y t h e window o f t h e C o f f e e
Shop. Based on my c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h
a n o t h e r l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n t , I know t h a t
R u s s i a n Government O f f i c i a l #1 has been
o b s e r v e d d r i v i n g t h e m i n i v a n , r e c o g n i z e d by
i t s l i c e n s e p l a t e , on a number o f o c c a s i o n s
subsequent t o January 20, 2010. As p a r t o f
the s u r v e i l l a n c e o p e r a t i o n , law-enforcement
agents u t i l i z e d a c o m m e r c i a l l y a v a i l a b l e
t o o l t h a t can d e t e c t t h e p r e s e n c e o f
w i r e l e s s n e t w o r k s . The a g e n t s d e t e c t e d t h e
p r e s e n c e o f a p a r t i c u l a r n e t w o r k ( t h e "AD
HOC NETWORK") w i t h two a s s o c i a t e d MAC
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addresses ("MAC ADDRESS A" and "MAC ADDRESS
B"). Based on my t r a i n i n g , e x p e r i e n c e , and
participation i n this investigation, I
b e l i e v e t h a t on January 20, CHAPMAN ( f r o m
t h e C o f f e e Shop) and R u s s i a n Government
O f f i c i a l #1 ( f r o m t h e m i n i v a n ) used t h e i r
l a p t o p computers ( w h i c h b o r e "MAC ADDRESS A"
and- "MAC ADDRESS B") t o c r e a t e t h e AD HOC
NETWORK and t o use i t t o communicate w i t h
one a n o t h e r .
c. On A p r i l 7, 2010, l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n t s ,
a c t i n g pursuant t o j u d i c i a l orders,
p e r f o r m e d s u r v e i l l a n c e on R u s s i a n Government
O f f i c i a l #1 s t a r t i n g f r o m t h e p o i n t t h a t he
l e f t h i s o f f i c e i n m i d - t o w n Manhattan.
A c c o r d i n g t o a l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t agent who was
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p e r f o r m i n g s u r v e i l l a n c e on R u s s i a n
Government O f f i c i a l # 1 , i t appeared t h a t
R u s s i a n Government O f f i c i a l # 1 n o t i c e d t h e
p r e s e n c e o f t h e s u r v e i l l a n c e team and
returned to his office. As p a r t o f t h e
s u r v e i l l a n c e o p e r a t i o n , law-enforcement
agents u t i l i z e d a c o m m e r c i a l l y a v a i l a b l e
t o o l t h a t can d e t e c t t h e p r e s e n c e o f
w i r e l e s s n e t w o r k s . On t h i s o c c a s i o n ; t h e
a g e n t s d e t e c t e d t h e p r e s e n c e o f MAC ADDRESS
A, b u t n o t MAC ADDRESS B. Based on my
t r a i n i n g , e x p e r i e n c e , and p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n
t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , I b e l i e v e t h a t on A p r i l
7, R u s s i a n Government O f f i c i a l #1 s e t o u t t o
communicate c o v e r t l y w i t h CHAPMAN, who was
u s i n g a l a p t o p computer t h a t b o r e MAC
ADDRESS A - b u t t h a t he ( R u s s i a n Government
O f f i c i a l #1) a b o r t e d h i s e f f o r t s t o
communicate w i t h CHAPMAN because he d e t e c t e d
t h e FBI's s u r v e i l l a n c e o f him.
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The i n d i v i d u a l seen d r i v i n g t h e Car has been i d e n t i f i e d as a
3
Russian government o f f i c i a l ("Russian Government O f f i c i a l # 2 ) .
The Car remained i n t h e p a r k i n g l o t f o r a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w e n t y
m i n u t e s and t h e n d r o v e away. W i t h i n a few m i n u t e s , SEMENKO l e f t
the Restaurant.
17. As s e t f o r t h i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l b e l o w , on June
26, 2010, an F B I u n d e r c o v e r agent ("UC-1"), p u r p o r t i n g t o be a
R u s s i a n c o n s u l a t e employee, a r r a n g e d a m e e t i n g w i t h ANNA
CHAPMAN, t h e d e f e n d a n t , i n Manhattan, New York, a f t e r t e l l i n g
h e r t h a t i t was u r g e n t t o meet w i t h h e r i n o r d e r t o p r o v i d e
s o m e t h i n g t o h e r . D u r i n g t h i s m e e t i n g , among o t h e r t h i n g s : (a)
CHAPMAN and UC-1 d i s c u s s e d h e r "Wednesday" c o v e r t l a p t o p
c o m m u n i c a t i o n s e s s i o n s , see s u p r a I I . A ; (b) CHAPMAN p r o v i d e d UC-
1 w i t h h e r l a p t o p computer, w h i c h a p p a r e n t l y was h a v i n g
3
Law-enforcement o f f i c e r s have o b s e r v e d t h e p e r s o n who
appears t o be R u s s i a n Government O f f i c i a l #2 e n t e r i n g and l e a v i n g
t h e R u s s i a n M i s s i o n . I n a d d i t i o n , l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t o f f i c i a l s have
o b t a i n e d f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s Department o f S t a t e t h e v i s a
a p p l i c a t i o n o f an i n d i v i d u a l i d e n t i f i e d as a "second s e c r e t a r y "
o f t h e R u s s i a n M i s s i o n . The p h o t o g r a p h o f t h e a p p l i c a n t i n t h a t
v i s a a p p l i c a t i o n i s a p h o t o g r a p h o f Russian Government O f f i c i a l
#2.
F u r t h e r m o r e , R u s s i a n Government O f f i c i a l #2 was
o b s e r v e d , i n 2004, e n g a g i n g i n a brush-pass w i t h a c o - c o n s p i r a t o r
named as a d e f e n d a n t i n t h e C o m p l a i n t a t a t r a i n s t a t i o n i n
F o r e s t H i l l s , New York. See C o m p l a i n t 53-54.
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t e c h n i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s , so t h a t i t c o u l d e i t h e r be f i x e d , o r
s e n t back t o Moscow; and (c) UC-1 p r o v i d e d CHAPMAN w i t h a
p a s s p o r t b e a r i n g a f i c t i t i o u s name, which UC-1 i n s t r u c t e d
CHAPMAN t o p r o v i d e t o a n o t h e r i l l e g a l , who was based i n New York
and who, u n l i k e CHAPMAN, was o p e r a t i n g i n a f a l s e name.
4
C e r t a i n o f t h e recorded conversations r e f e r r e d t o i n
t h i s C o m p l a i n t were c o n d u c t e d i n Russian. The q u o t a t i o n s and
d e s c r i p t i o n s o f t h e s e c o n v e r s a t i o n s a r e based on p r e l i m i n a r y
t r a n s l a t i o n s o f t h e c o n v e r s a t i o n s , and a r e s u b j e c t t o r e v i s i o n .
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to the technical d i f f i c u l t i e s with the laptop-to-
l a p t o p c o v e r t communications between CHAPMAN and
R u s s i a n Government O f f i c i a l # 1 .
e. UC-1 t h e n e x p l a i n e d , " [ T ] h i s i s n o t l i k e , t h i s i s
n o t l i k e t h e Wednesdays w i t h t h e n o t e b o o k s , t h i s
i s d i f f e r e n t i t i s , i t i s t h e n e x t s t e p . You a r e
r e a d y f o r t h e n e x t s t e p . Okay?" CHAPMAN
r e p l i e d , "Ok."
b. The V e r i z o n Bag a l s o c o n t a i n e d t h e p a c k a g i n g f o r
a " T r a c f o n e " c a l l i n g c a r d , and f o r a V e r i z o n
c a l l i n g c a r d . Based on my t r a i n i n g a n d
e x p e r i e n c e , and my i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h i s
i n v e s t i g a t i o n , I know t h a t b o t h o f t h e s e c a l l i n g
c a r d s may be used t o make i n t e r n a t i o n a l c a l l s .
22. Based on t h e f o r e g o i n g o b s e r v a t i o n s b y t h e
s u r v e i l l a n c e a g e n t s , as w e l l as my t r a i n i n g , e x p e r i e n c e , and
p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , I b e l i e v e t h a t ANNA
CHAPMAN, t h e d e f e n d a n t , f o l l o w i n g h e r m e e t i n g w i t h UC-1, e n t e r e d
a s e r i e s o f s t o r e s t o a v o i d b e i n g f o l l o w e d o r s u r v e i l l e d . On
t h e s e same bases, I b e l i e v e t h a t h e r use o f a f a l s e name and
a d d r e s s i n t h e c u s t o m e r agreement f o r m , as w e l l as h e r t h r o w i n g
o f t h e c e l l p h o n e c h a r g e r , s u g g e s t t h a t CHAPMAN was s e e k i n g t o
use t h e M o t o r o l a c e l l p h o n e o n l y t e m p o r a r i l y so as t o a v o i d
detection o f her conversations.
AMIT KACHHIA-PATEL
S p e c i a l Agent
F e d e r a l Bureau o f I n v e s t i g a t i o n
Sworn t o b e f o r e me t h i s
27thdayo f June, 2010
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