The U.S. government is seeking seizure of the property left behind by the 10 members of a Russian spy ring deported from the United States in July.
Ten Russian "illegals," or sleeper agents, were arrested in the United States in late June on suspicion of espionage. They plead guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered foreign agents and were returned to Russia in exchange for four men accused by the Kremlin of spying for UK's MI6 and the CIA.
A U.S. attorney filed a forfeiture request in a federal court in Manhattan on Thursday, Bloomberg reported. The news agency said that as part of the spy swap the agents had agreed not to contest the forfeiture of their property.
The request includes more than $180,000 in bank accounts, real estate in several different states, and a BMW, Land Rover and Volkswagen.
The U.S. government is also entitled to seize some of the money and property the Russians have acquired since they were deported. Any such efforts would be likely to focus on Anna Chapman, the femme fatale of the group, who told German magazine Der Spiegel last month that her website would be "up and running soon."
Chapman has already cashed in on her celebrity status with a sexy photoshoot for celebrity magazine Zhara (Russian for heat), while little has been heard from any of the other members of the spy ring.
MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti)
