The U.S. Justice Department released the below information:
Yesterday,
a complaint was unsealed in Brooklyn charging Asif Merchant, also known as Asif
Raza Merchant, 46, with murder-for-hire as part of an alleged scheme to
assassinate a politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil. Law
enforcement foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out.
Merchant is in federal custody.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively
to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American
public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” said Attorney
General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will spare no resource to
disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal
plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an
authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s
national security.”
“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s
complaint allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to
Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” said FBI Director
Christopher Wray. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or
any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the
full might and resources of the FBI.”
“The complaint unsealed today underscores, yet again, that those
who engage in lethal plotting on U.S. soil will face the full force of the
American justice system,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of
the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The targeting of former
and current officials by foreign actors is an affront to our sovereignty and
our democratic institutions and the Department of Justice will use every
possible tool to expose and disrupt this egregious activity.”
“Working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the
murder of U.S. government officials on American soil,” said U.S. Attorney Breon
Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This prosecution demonstrates that
this office and the entire Department of Justice will take swift and decisive
action to protect our nation’s security, our government officials and our
citizens from foreign threats
“Fortunately, the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire
were undercover FBI Agents,” said Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis of
the FBI New York Field Office. “This case underscores the dedication and
formidable efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors in New York,
Houston, and Dallas. Their success in neutralizing this threat not only
prevented a tragic outcome but also reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to
protecting our nation and its citizens from both domestic and international threats.”
According to allegations contained in the complaint and related
publicly filed court documents, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate a
politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil. In approximately April
2024, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from
Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme.
That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a
confidential source (the CS).
In early June, Merchant met the CS in New York and explained his
assassination plot. Merchant told the CS that the opportunity he had for the CS
was not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing. Merchant then made a
“finger gun” motion with his hand, indicating that the opportunity was related
to a killing. Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be
“targeted here,” meaning in the United States. Merchant instructed the CS to
arrange meetings with individuals whom Merchant could hire to carry out these
actions. Merchant explained that his plot involved multiple criminal
schemes: (1) stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home; (2)
planning a protest; and (3) killing a politician or government official.
At that meeting, Merchant began planning potential assassination
scenarios and quizzed the CS on how he would kill a target in the various
scenarios. Specifically, Merchant asked the CS to explain how a target would
die in different scenarios. Merchant told the CS that there would be “security
[] all around” the person.
Merchant stated that the assassination would occur after he left
the United States and he would communicate with the CS from overseas using code
words. The CS asked whether Merchant had spoken to the unidentified “party”
back home with whom Merchant was working. Merchant responded that he had and
that the party back home told him to “finalize” the plan and leave the United
States.
In mid-June, Merchant met with the purported hitmen, who were in
fact undercover U.S. law enforcement officers (the UCs) in New York. Merchant
advised the UCs that he was looking for three services from them: theft of
documents, arranging protests at political rallies, and for them to kill a
“political person.” Merchant stated that the hitmen would receive instructions
on who to kill either the last week of August or the first week of September,
after Merchant had departed the United States.
Merchant then began arranging means to obtain $5,000 in cash to
pay the UCs as an advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually
received with assistance from an individual overseas. On June 21, Merchant met
with the UCs in New York and paid them the $5,000 advance. After Merchant paid
the $5,000 to the UCs, one of the UCs stated, “now we’re bonded,” to which
Merchant responded “yes.” The UC then stated “Now we know we’re going
forward. We’re doing this,” to which Merchant responded “Yes, absolutely.”
Merchant subsequently made flight arrangements and planned to
leave the United States on Friday, July 12, 2024. On July 12, law enforcement
agents placed Merchant under arrest before he could leave the country. Merchant
has stated that he has a wife and children in Iran and a wife and children in
Pakistan.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara K. Winik, Gilbert Rein, and
Douglas Pravda for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorneys David
Smith and Joshua Champagne of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism
Section are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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