A wide-ranging prisoner swap between Russia and Western nations has seen the release of various Russian citizens, including suspected spies, cybercriminals and a convicted assassin.
On Thursday, the United States and Russia orchestrated their largest prisoner swap since the fall of the Soviet Union. This multinational agreement resulted in the release of two dozen individuals.
Those freed by Moscow included Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal; Paul Whelan, a security consultant with Irish and British citizenship; and several dissidents, among them Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British national known for his criticism of the Kremlin.
Here are the eight prisoners returned to Russia, along with their alleged offenses:
Vadim Krasikov
Vadim Krasikov stands out as the most notorious figure among those returned to Russia. In 2021, he was found guilty of a brazen assassination carried out in broad daylight in a Berlin park two years earlier.
The victim was Zelimkhan "Tornike" Khangoshvili, a Georgian who had fought against Russian forces in Chechnya before seeking refuge in Germany. Krasikov, equipped with a silenced pistol, executed the murder with chilling efficiency. In an attempt to cover his tracks, he was observed discarding the weapon, along with a bicycle and a wig, into a nearby river.
German authorities swiftly apprehended Krasikov, a 58-year-old colonel in Russia's security apparatus, before he could flee.
The investigation revealed that he had not acted alone - evidence pointed to Russian state involvement, including financial backing and the provision of a false identity.
Throughout the complex prisoner exchange negotiations, Moscow had persistently advocated for Krasikov's release.
The importance of his return was underscored by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, who personally raised the issue and was present on the tarmac to greet Krasikov upon his arrival back on Russian soil.
Vladislav Klyushin
Vladislav Klyushin, a 43-year-old Russian businessman, found himself at the centre of a high-stakes financial scandal that ultimately led to a nine-year prison sentence in 2023.
Klyushin was the mastermind behind an audacious $100million hacking scheme that netted him a personal windfall of approximately $33million.
The operation's modus operandi was as clever as it was illegal: Klyushin and his associates infiltrated computer systems to steal confidential corporate earnings information before it became public.
Armed with this insider knowledge, they executed strategic trades on Wall Street, reaping enormous profits ahead of market movements.
Klyushin's luck ran out in 2021 when Swiss authorities arrested him as his private jet touched down in the Alps.
He was subsequently extradited to the United States to face fraud charges.
What makes Klyushin's case particularly intriguing are his alleged Kremlin connections. His Moscow-based cybersecurity firm, M13, wasn't just any tech company - it boasted the Russian government among its clientele, raising questions about the potential overlap between cybercrime and state interests.
Roman Seleznev
In 2017, Seleznev received a landmark 27-year sentence - the most severe punishment ever meted out for cybercrime in the United States.
The court also ordered him to pay a staggering $170million in restitution to his victims. However, this prisoner swap has cut his incarceration short by several decades.
Seleznev's capture was itself a tale of international intrigue. In 2014, he was apprehended in the Maldives and subsequently extradited to face justice in the US.
Adding another layer of complexity to his case are Seleznev's connections to Russia's political elite. His father's position as a prominent politician has led to speculation about potential links between cybercrime and the upper echelons of Russian power.
Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva
A Russian couple, alleged to be part of a "sleeper cell", were arrested on espionage charges in Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital, in 2022. They had been posing as Argentine citizens since 2017.
Authorities claim the couple used Ljubljana as a base, travelling to nearby countries to relay orders from Moscow to other spies.
The pair, who have two children, pleaded guilty on Wednesday. They received a 19-month sentence but were freed based on time already served, allowing their inclusion in the prisoner swap.
Vadim Konoshchenok
The alleged officer of Russia's Federal Security Service was extradited from Estonia to the United States last year.
He faced charges of smuggling ammunition and dual-use technology - items that can be used for both civilian and military purposes - to support Russia's war effort in Ukraine.
According to prosecutors, he was apprehended in 2022 while attempting to travel from Estonia to Russia. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly carrying several dozen types of semiconductors and electrical components.
Pavel Rubtsov
Rubtsov was among a group of individuals detained in Poland on espionage charges. He was accused of conducting espionage activities for Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.
Polish authorities allege that Rubtsov operated under the alias Pablo Gonzalez. They claim he used his Spanish-Russian dual citizenship and his profession as a journalist as a cover for his cover activities.
Mikhail Mikushin
According to Norway's security agency PST, Mikushin posed as a Brazilian citizen. He worked as a lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø until his arrest in October 2022 on suspicion of spying for Russia.
Prosecutors later revealed that his real identity was Mikhail Mikushin, a Russian national.
Roman Seleznev
Roman Seleznev, a notorious cybercriminal, orchestrated a massive scheme that involved pilfering millions of credit card numbers from hundreds of businesses and peddling the stolen data online.
