Has previously investigated him
Ex-FBI official charged with money laundering for oligarchs
01/23/2023 at 9:14 p.m
He worked for counterintelligence in New York and took care of the investigations against oligarchs: Now charges have been brought against a 54-year-old former FBI official. He is said to have agreed money laundering with billionaire Oleg Deripaska so that he could avoid sanctions.
A former senior FBI official and another American have been arrested for illegally aiding a Russian oligarch. The two men are said to have agreed to launder money with billionaire Oleg Deripaska in order to circumvent sanctions imposed on him in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. In return for payments from Deripaska, the investigation into a rival oligarch is said to have been, according to the authorities.
On Monday, the New York Attorney’s Office released an indictment with five charges – including violating US sanctions, money laundering and conspiracy – the suspects have been in custody since Saturday night, according to the statement.
What is also striking about the case is that the former FBI employee had worked as a special agent for the FBI’s counterintelligence department in New York before retiring in 2018. The 54-year-old was responsible for investigations against oligarchs, including Deripaska. Together with the second American, who is originally of Russian origin and worked as a court translator, he recently tried to have the sanctions against the billionaire lifted.
Prosecutor Damian Williams said: “This office will continue to prosecute those violating US sanctions imposed in response to Russian belligerence in Ukraine to line their own pockets.”
Deripaska himself was charged with sanctions violations in the United States in September. If convicted, Deripaska – who was not in the US – could face up to 20 years in prison, according to the US Department of Justice. Deripaska is an aluminum magnate with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was a client of Paul Manafort, who served as Donald Trump’s campaign chairman for several months in 2016 and was convicted of financial fraud and other crimes in 2018.