- Tamerlan Amshukov, 26, and Alina Kushnirenko, 24, were indicted for allegedly conducting surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions for Iranian agents in exchange for cryptocurrency.
- The couple filmed residential targets in various Israeli cities, documented emergency exits at a mall, and captured footage of the Eilat port and military vessels.
- Prosecutors said the defendants received over $4,400 in cryptocurrency for their activities, with additional unpaid funds, and admitted to carrying out the assignments after initially denying knowledge of working for Iran.
The Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office charged Amshukov with contact with a foreign agent and 16 counts of providing information that could benefit the enemy.
Tamerlan Amshukov, 26, and Alina Kushnirenko, 24, were indicted on Thursday for allegedly carrying out a months-long series of surveillance and intelligence-gathering missions for Iranian agents in exchange for cryptocurrency.
The Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office charged Amshukov with contact with a foreign agent and 16 counts of providing information that could benefit the enemy. Kushnirenko was charged with eight counts of providing such information.
Prosecutors asked the Tel Aviv District Court to keep the couple in custody until the conclusion of the proceedings against them. They were arrested on July 12 following a joint Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police investigation.
According to the indictment, Amshukov was first approachedwhich offered to pay him to visit and film a restaurant in Ashdod. Kushnirenko allegedly warned him that the approach could be connected to terrorist activity, and the assignment was not carried out
About four months later, another Telegram profile, using the name “Aslan,” offered Amshukov a commission to withdraw money and deliver the cash to another person. He did not carry out that assignment but continued communicating with the profile, prosecutors said.
“Aslan” later allegedly offered to pay Amshukov to conduct surveillance, film addresses, and track individuals whose photographs would be sent to him. The assignments were carried out for “Aslan” and another person calling himself “David,” with payments transferred in cryptocurrency.
Amshukov allegedly accepted the offer and recruited Kushnirenko to assist him. Prosecutors said the pair carried out the assignments between April and July, knowing – or deliberately ignoring the possibility – that they were working for an Iranian agent or another hostile organization.
The couple allegedly filmed residential targets in Ashdod, Beersheba, Haifa, and Kadima-Tzoran, documenting the buildings or homes, their surroundings, and the routes leading to them.
The targets included a Beersheba apartment building where an employee of a defense facility lived, as well as a private home in Kadima-Tzoran belonging to a member of the security services. The indictment said the defendants were sent photographs of the people they were asked to locate but did not know their identities.
At several locations, the handler instructed them to return and repeat the filming because he was dissatisfied with the footage.
Suspects sent to film mall emergency exits, Eilat port
The couple was also allegedly sent to Ramat Aviv Mall in Tel Aviv to document its emergency exits and identify an area not covered by security cameras. Prosecutors said they filmed part of a staircase between the mall’s first and second floors after determining that it did not appear to be under camera surveillance.
In late June, the pair traveled to Eilat, where they allegedly filmed the promenade, coastline, port area, and ships they believed were military vessels. During the journey, Amshukov also filmed a security installation near Dimona without knowing its purpose and sent the footage to the handler.
The handler later instructed the pair to approach a closed military port and photograph ships, telling Amshukov to take a panoramic photograph of a naval base. Amshukov reached the area but left without completing the assignment because he became afraid, according to the indictment.
After complaining about the quality of the footage, the handler allegedly transferred $1,200 for Amshukov to purchase a new phone with a higher-quality camera. Kushnirenko allegedly helped configure the phone before the pair returned to the Eilat promenade and port area and sent additional recordings.
Amshukov was later sent to Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, where prosecutors said he filmed the entrance, surrounding area, access roads, andIDF soldiers. He returned the following day and allegedly filmed additional parts of the site, including the Herzl Museum.
The handler also proposed assignments that were not completed, including renting an apartment in Haifa and installing a camera overlooking building entrances, finding someone to retrieve a package arriving by sea, transferring money, and recruiting taxi drivers to carry out missions.
Suspected spies received over $4,400 in cryptocurrency
Prosecutors said the defendants received approximately $4,450 in cryptocurrency, while a further $2,300 remained unpaid. They were arrested before carrying out another alleged assignment in Beersheba.
In the detention request, prosecutors said both defendants admitted carrying out the assignments. They initially denied knowing that they were working for Iran but later acknowledged that they had understood this during the Eilat mission and had continued performing tasks, according to the state.
The prosecution said its evidence included material extracted from their phones, videos, and photographs, cryptocurrency-wallet records, communications data, and security-camera footage. Amshukov allegedly deleted most of his correspondence with the handler from his personal phone.
