Suspected Soviet KGB Agent Faces Espionage Charge
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NEW YORK — A Soviet employee of the United Nations suspected of being a KGB agent has been charged with espionage and is to be arraigned today, officials said.
The FBI foiled an attempt Saturday night by Gennadiy Fedorovich Zakharov “to obtain classified information of the U.S. government” at a subway platform meeting with a defense worker he tried to recruit, who went to the FBI instead.
Zakharov, who has limited diplomatic immunity, could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted on espionage charges, officials said. Zakharov, 39, was a scientific affairs officer assigned to the Center for Science and Technology for Development at the U.N. Secretariat.
FBI Assistant Director John L. Hogan said the informant has worked with the FBI on the case for three years, and all his meetings with Zakharov were monitored by the FBI.
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