MOSCOW, March 24 (RAPSI) – The US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a protective order forbidding Russian national Yevgeny Buryakov, who stands accused by US authorities of participating in a spy ring, and his lawyers to disclose case materials, according to court records obtained by RAPSI on Tuesday.

"It is heareby ordered, pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16(d), that discovery materials provided by the Government to defense counsel of record shall not be further disseminated by the defendant or his counsel to any individuals, organizations or other entities, other than members of the defense team (limited to: co-counsel, paralegals, investigators, translatos, litigation support personnel, secretarial staff, and the defendant)," reads the order.

The court warned Buryakov and his lawyers that the discovery materials can't be provided to any foreign persons or entities and may not be transmitted outside ot he United States.

Buryakov, 39, who worked in the Manhattan office of a Russian bank, was arrested in the Bronx.

The two other Russians, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy, who are implicated in the case have left the United States.

US prosecutors claim that the three men worked for Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, known as the SVR.

Buryakov, Sporyshev and Podobnyy, were asked to gather intelligence on potential US sanctions against Russian banks and the United States’ efforts to develop alternative energy resources, The US Justice Department said in a statement released in January.

The DOJ statement also said that Russian diplomats had been monitored by the FBI since 2012 and through 2014, and the gathered evidence leaves little doubt about the nature of their activities, as they openly discussed working for Russian intelligence.

Buryakov pleaded not guilty.

If convicted he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Commenting on the latest developments, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, said that the charges brought against Buryakov were ungrounded.

“We will continue working to protect his (Buryakov’s) legitimate rights and interests, including his procedural rights. We will use political, diplomatic and legal methods to bring about his early release. We support the actions of his attorneys,” Dolgov said.