U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, alleging that he violated non-disclosure agreements he signed with NSA and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), of which Snowden was once an employee.

At the center of the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, was Snowden's new book entitled Permanent Record, which hit bookshelves on Tuesday.

"The lawsuit alleges that Snowden published his book without submitting it to the agencies for pre-publication review, in violation of his express obligations under the agreements he signed," according to the Justice Department.

"Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Snowden has given public speeches on intelligence-related matters, also in violation of his non-disclosure agreements," said the department.

The lawsuit, the department said, does not seek to stop or restrict the publication or distribution of the book. Rather, the purpose is to "ensure that no funds are transferred to Snowden, or at his direction, while the court resolves the United States' claims," it said.

Snowden shocked the world in 2013 by revealing that the U.S. intelligence agencies utilized programs such as PRISM to conduct mass surveillance. Among those measures were the collections of phone and online communication records of the general public.

Snowden, now taking refuge in Russia and wanted by the United States, reportedly said that he would like to return to his home country, and that he wants fair trial.

"I would like to return to the United States. That is the ultimate goal. But if I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial," he said. "And that is the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won't provide access to what's called a public interest defense."