Russia Allegedly Went Shopping for a Hitman in America. The Price Was $40,000.

The alleged price for killing a Russian dissident inside the United States was $40,000.

Surveillance was cheaper. Federal prosecutors say the people arranging the operation offered $1,000 to $1,500 for photos and video of locations connected to the target. Murder had its own code word: "construction."

An indictment unsealed in Manhattan charges five people with working in a network tied to Russian intelligence services. Prosecutors say the network recruited people in America to surveil Russian dissidents and, in at least one case, tried to recruit someone to carry out a killing here. All five defendants remain at large.

From the DOJ, Southern District of New York:

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced today the unsealing of charges against five individuals working for the intelligence services of the Russian Federation to conduct attacks and murders around the world, including in the United States.
As detailed in the unsealed indictment, the network is alleged to have, among other things, paid and attempted to pay individuals within the United States and elsewhere to conduct pre-operational surveillance and carry out targeted killings, and commissioned associates to commit and attempted to commit acts of terrorism against civilian and military infrastructure in European countries that are aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine.

The details read less like Cold War espionage than a criminal help-wanted ad.

In July, prosecutors say Venezuelan national Angel Eduardo Castro contracted a Venezuelan living in Brooklyn and asked whether he knew someone trustworthy in Washington.

Cuban national Yaidel Delgado Suarez then allegedly sent instructions for surveillance, described in code as measuring a plot of land before the "construction" job. The recruit was told to record at least 30 seconds of video from several angles.

Then the language stopped being subtle.

Prosecutors say Suarez explained that the target was someone they wanted to "eliminate" or "disappear." The offer was $40,000. When the recruit said he would take pictures but wouldn't do the killing himself, Suarez later asked whether he knew "someone who wants to do construction."

The alleged operation even had backup labor problems. Suarez complained that another team in Mexico was delayed and said his boss wanted an answer. The money, he assured the recruit, was ready. Prosecutors say Suarez also tried to recruit additional people to target victims inside the United States.

This wasn't the only alleged job. Prosecutors say a U.S. citizen was approached in 2025 to surveil a Russian exile near Vilnius, Lithuania. He received about $200 for surveillance and was later offered roughly $25,000 to kill the man. He declined. The alleged target was described as a "bad guy" who was criticizing Russia.

Three defendants face a murder-for-hire conspiracy charge. All five face a conspiracy charge involving financing terrorism. An indictment is an accusation, not a conviction, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Russia rejects the accusation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would wait for credible evidence and tangible facts before commenting further. Russia has denied carrying out similar plots abroad.

The indictment still raises an ugly question even before a jury decides whether prosecutors can prove this case.

Western governments have spent years accusing Russian security services of pursuing dissidents beyond Russia's borders. Prosecutors are now alleging something even closer to home: recruitment, surveillance, and a $40,000 murder offer aimed at a dissident believed to be in America.

If proven, somebody wasn't merely testing America's defenses.

They were testing whether murder could be outsourced here.

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