Brazil Uncovers Russian Spy Network Built on Forged Documents
- Brazilian federal agents exposed a Russian spy network living under fake Brazilian identities from early 2022 through a multiyear investigation called Operation East.
- The investigation was launched following a CIA tip in April 2022 that exposed Sergey Cherkasov, a GRU operative who had created a fabricated Brazilian identity over several years and was subsequently apprehended on charges of document fraud.
- Investigators found the spies exploited Brazil's decentralized birth certificate system that issued real documents with minimal verification, allowing creation of authentic identities for cover.
- Authorities identified at least nine Russian officers; only Cherkasov remains imprisoned with a five-year sentence, while others fled or returned to Russia, ending their intelligence roles.
- The dismantling dealt a major blow to Moscow’s illegals program and demonstrates Brazil's shift against foreign espionage, supported by international intelligence cooperation.
26 Articles
26 Articles
KGB Spies May Have Done a Huge Favor for Successors
As the Soviet Union started to collapse, KGB spies in Brazil may have done their Russian successors a huge favor. Investigators trying to determine how Brazil became an "assembly line" for deep-cover Russian agents believe KGB agents in the country obtained birth certificates for nonexistent babies in the final years...
Brazil uncovers Russian spy network built on forged documents
Russia quietly turned Brazil into a staging ground for deep-cover operatives, according to a New York Times investigation. Over the past decade, Russian agents posing as Brazilian citizens used real birth certificates to build false identities, start businesses and blend into society, preparing for missions abroad. Known as “illegals,” the agents lived undercover in Brazil for years before moving to Europe, the U.S. or the Middle East. Brazil’s …
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