Elena Branson: All about US-Russia citizen charged with covertly acting as Russian agent

The US federal authorities stated that a 61-year-old woman, who founded the Russian Center in New York and helped organise an "I Love Russia" campaign, illegally operated as a Russian government agent while conducting business in the United States for almost a decade. Elena Branson, a dual US-Russian citizen, was charged on March 8 with operating as a foreign government agent without notifying US authorities. She has been charged with conspiring to conduct visa fraud, lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and failing to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, The Independent reported. 

According to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Branson engaged with high-ranking Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, to establish a Russian "propaganda centre" in New York City. It also claimed that she got tens of thousands of dollars in funding from the Russian government for organising events under the supervision of Russian officials without notifying US authorities about her role as a foreign agent. Meanwhile, the federal prosecutors claimed that she also served as chair of the Russian Community Council of the US, which is part of a Kremlin network known as "soft power," - supported in part by various Russian government-run businesses. They also accused Branson, who is currently on the run, of attempting to get false visas for Russian officials and their accomplices to visit the United States. 

About Elena Branson

Branson, aka Elena Chernykh, was born in the then-Soviet Union in 1961 and emigrated to the United States in 1991, according to the government's complaint. She went on to obtain citizenship in the US in 1999. The federal prosecutors claimed that she began working with Russian authorities as early as 2011. She was then given permission by Moscow to open the Russian Center New York in Manhattan in 2012, for which she was directly tasked by Russian officials to arrange events and public messaging.

She was also named chairperson of the Russian Community Council of the United States, which was previously known as the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots. Following the FBI investigation, the group ceased operations in 2021. Meanwhile, she was also named chairperson of the Russian Community Council of the United States, which was previously known as the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots.

Branson was accused of coordinating meetings between US elected officials & Russian officials

Following the FBI investigation, the group ceased operations in 2021. According to the complaint, she is also accused of coordinating meetings between US elected officials and Russian officials. According to the Justice Department, Branson falsely claimed to FBI agents in 2020 that she was never approached by Russian officials to coordinate any meeting with US business executives. According to the complaint, FBI agents seized 34 electronic devices, including 11 cellphones, from the Russian Center New York headquarters in Manhattan, The Independent reported. 

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