Suspected Russian Intelligence Officer Among Those Facing Sanctions-Busting Conspiracy Charges

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate says the organization will try to thwart Russian procurement of items to boost Moscow's weapons stock. File photo of the FBI crest inside the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, on Aug. 3, 2007. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Five Russian nationals and two United States nationals were the subjects of a 16-count indictment that was unsealed in a Brooklyn federal court on Dec. 14.

The defendants, which included a suspected Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, were charged with conspiracy and other crimes after the Department of Justice alleged they were part of a global network to launder money and obtain weapons on behalf of the Russian government.