33-year-old Brazilian Victor Muller, who posed as Ferreira, but was actually 33-year-old Russian Sergey Vladimirovich Serkazov, was arrested in the Netherlands last spring. The General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) later announced that the man had already been employed as an intern at the ICC, but he was arrested at Schiphol shortly before he was due to start there after “all the alarm bells” went off at the AIVD. Serkazov worked for the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, and according to the AIVD at the time, could have had access to information very interesting to the GRU and to people at the ICC.

The then 36-year-old Russian was extradited to Brazil, where he was convicted of identity fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, Russia has demanded his extradition. The US may try to stop this with indictments.

The US Department of Justice is basing the indictment on alleged actions Cherkasov committed between 2018 and 2020 while a student at Johns Hopkins University in Washington. He allegedly passed information about Americans to Russian intelligence while posing as a representative of a foreign power.