A citizen of the Russian Federation, who was convicted of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, was removed from the U.S. Friday, pursuant to a judicial removal order, by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Mariia Valeryevna Butina departed from Miami International Airport on a direct flight to Moscow at approximately 6 p.m. EDT.
On July 15, 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested and charged Butina with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government within the U.S. without prior notification to the Attorney General. Butina was indicted July 17, 2018, for acting as an agent of a foreign government and with conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.
On April 26, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia convicted Butina, pursuant to a plea agreement, of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and issued a judicial order of removal. Butina completed her sentence and entered ICE custody Oct. 25, 2019, and ICE removed her to Russia that same day.