US charges 3 Russians with disinformation scheme

Bloomberg

Three Russian government officials were charged with conspiring to affect US policy towards Russia with staged events and propaganda — including efforts to influence members of Congress.
An indictment against Aleksandr Babakov, deputy chairman of the state duma, Russia’s lower legislative body, and two members of his staff was unsealed in Manhattan federal court.
Babakov, Aleksandr Vorobev and Mikhail Plisyuk were accused of trying to influence members of Congress and others to advance Russia’s interests, with one unidentified lawmaker being offered a free trip to Crimea
in 2017.
US prosecutors have stepped up efforts against Russian targets after the
invasion of Ukraine, and
the Justice Department launched a task force targeting wealth hidden oversees by oligarchs and others close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Today’s indictment demonstrates that Russia’s illegitimate actions against Ukraine extend beyond the battlefield,” said Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams, “as political influencers under Russia’s control allegedly plotted to steer geopolitical change in Russia’s favour through surreptitious and illegal means in the US and elsewhere in the West.”
The Russian Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the charges.
A close ally of Putin, Babakov was appointed a special envoy to Russian overseas organisations in 2012.