US Authorities Foiled Russian Intelligence Assassination Plot Targeting Garry Kasparov
Former chess champion Garry Kasparov was the target of a Russian intelligence-linked assassination plot in the US, according to a report by El Mundo and recent federal indictments.
Former world chess champion and prominent Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov was the target of an assassination plot orchestrated by a network linked to Russian intelligence, according to a report published Wednesday by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. US authorities warned Kasparov of the danger last summer and placed him under special protection.
The revelation comes two weeks after the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against five individuals accused of acting on behalf of Russian intelligence services. According to the indictment, the network attempted to recruit operatives inside the United States to monitor Russian dissidents and carry out targeted killings on American soil. While US authorities did not publicly name the targets, El Mundo reported that Kasparov was one of them.
Investigators stated that the network offered between $1,000 and $1,500 for surveillance photographs of locations associated with the prominent dissident, followed by a $40,000 bounty for his disappearance or assassination. Although the recruited operative gathered and transmitted visual surveillance, they ultimately refused to execute the murder.
Kasparov, 63, retired from professional chess in 2005 to dedicate his efforts to political opposition against Russian President Vladimir Putin. He left Russia in 2013 and settled in New York. Since then, Moscow has designated him as a foreign agent and subsequently added him to its official list of terrorists and extremists.
According to the US Department of Justice, the operation has been active since at least 2024 and involved a former Russian intelligence officer, an active FSB officer, as well as nationals from Cuba and Venezuela. The five suspects face federal charges including conspiracy to finance terrorism, with three also charged with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire. All suspects currently remain at large.
