Accused Russian spy Maria Butina met with the head of a Russian cultural organization under intelligence scrutiny for being involved in espionage, according to a new report from Politico.
Authorities say Butina had dinner in January with Oleg Zhiganov, the director of the Russian Cultural Centre, which authorities suspect of being involved in recruiting spies, the report from Politico states. The center is part of the Russian Foreign Ministry, and Zhiganov was one of 60 Russian officials told to leave the country earlier this year, according to a Weekly Standard report.
Butina was arrested earlier this month and indicted on charges of conspiracy against the U.S. and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Russian government. She allegedly was in regular contact with Russian intelligence agency FSB, which replaced the Soviet-era KGB, and is accused of
She pleaded not guilty.
The 29-year-old was in the U.S. on a student visa, studying at American University. A gun-rights advocate, she is alleged to have connections with high-profile members of the National Rifle Association and is accused of working with a Russian official suspected of being Alexander Torshin, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
