A hitman, an identity thief and a money launderer are among eight prisoners released by the United States as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
The convicts were released in exchange for the release of 16 Russian prisoners, including Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.
The exchange of 26 inmates is the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.
The agreement involves seven countries and began on the tarmac of Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday.
Among those on the plane was killer Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.
Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, is among eight prisoners freed by the United States as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.
Krasikov was convicted of shooting dead Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, 40, in broad daylight in a central Berlin park in June 2019.
He approached the Georgian-born Chechen separatist on a bicycle and executed him in Berlin’s Kleine Tiergarten park in December 2021.
A German court ruled that the killing was a “state-contracted murder” ordered by the Kremlin.
Russian media outlet The Insider also published the names of the other seven released in Russia.
Among them are cybercriminals Roman Seleznev and Vladislav Klyushin, who are being returned from the United States, the outlet said.
Seleznev was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
Russian businessman Klyushin has been convicted of participating in an elaborate hacking scheme that allowed him to raise approximately $93 million through securities transactions, relying on confidential corporate information stolen from U.S. computer networks.
Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin has been convicted of participating in an elaborate hacking scheme that netted an estimated $93 million.
The married couple Artem and Anna Dultsev were living under the aliases Maria Rosa Mayer Muños and Ludwig Gisch in Slovenia when they were accused of espionage.
Vadim Konoshchenko, accused of supplying US-made ammunition and electronics to the Russian military, is reportedly the latest prisoner to be released from the United States.
Vadim Konoshchenko, who was accused of supplying US-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military, is the latest prisoner to be released from the United States, according to reports.
Spanish-Russian journalist Pavel Rubtsov, accused of being a spy, has been released from Poland, according to The Insider.
The married couple Artem and Anna Dultsev were returned to Russia from Slovenia, where they were convicted on espionage charges.
The couple lived under the false names of María Rosa Mayer Muños and Ludwig Gisch and were sentenced to 19 months in prison.
Also released was Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who came to Norway as a Brazilian citizen and was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of espionage.
The convicts were released in exchange for 16 Western prisoners, including three American citizens.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is set to be released imminently after nearly 500 days in detention.
Mikhail Mikushin, an academic who came to Norway as a Brazilian citizen, was also released. He was arrested on suspicion of espionage in 2022.
Valery Seleznev has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United States for his role in a $50 million cyber fraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges that the United States considers illegitimate. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia since 2018, is also involved in the trafficking.
Whelan, 54, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges. The United States has denied he was involved in spying operations.
Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmashevas was the latest US citizen to be released by Russia.