Alleged Russian agent Maria Butina met with Treasury Department and Federal Reserve officials in 2015, according to a report Sunday.
Butina and Alexander Torshin, then the Russian Central Bank deputy governor, participated in separate meetings with Stanley Fischer, Fed vice chairman at the time, and Nathan Sheets, then-Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, Reuters reports.
The purpose of the meetings was to discuss U.S.-Russian economic relations during Democratic former President Barack Obama’s administration. The Center for the National Interest, a Washington foreign policy think tank that supports improved relations between the U.S. and Russia, organized the meetings.
Federal prosecutors charged Butina, 29, this week for conspiracy against the U.S. and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian government. Prosecutors alleged she was connected to high-profile members of the National Rifle Association, and was in regular contact with the FSB, the Russian intelligence agency that replaced the Soviet-era KGB.
They also alleged Butina attempted to offer sex in exchange for a position with a special interest political organization she targeted during her time in the U.S., when she was working for Torshin, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
[More: Russian Foreign Ministry calls for release of Maria Butina]
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to say CNI is supportive of efforts to improve U.S.-Russia relations. An earlier version said it supports pro-Russia views.
