The FBI suspected Dmitry Petrovsky, an employee of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department of External Church Relations, of working for Russian intelligence and engaged in recruiting agents for Russian intelligence services among priests and parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Orthodox churches in the United States.
In May 2021, Petrovsky was searched upon entering the United States. Files related to Russian intelligence were found on his computer.
Among the documents found were dossiers on well-known Orthodox priests in the US with details of biographies of their family members. The FBI believed that such information was necessary for Petrovsky to blackmail these people during the recruitment process.
One of the files found was marked "confidential” and, according to the agency, this document contains a description of the areas of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian special services - SVR, GRU and FSB.