A former FBI official has been arrested over his ties to a Russian oligarch charged with violating US sanctions.
Charles McGonigal, 54, was previously the special counterintelligence agent at the New York field office.
He was arrested Saturday afternoon after arriving at JFK after a trip to Sri Lanka and resigned from the FBI in 2018.
Law enforcement say he has ties to metals mogul Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire sanctioned by the US in 2018 and then charged with violating them last year.
Deripaska was among two dozen Russian oligarchs and government officials blacklisted by Washington in 2018 in response to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump become president.
Court interpreter Sergey Shestakov, 69, was also charged in connection with the case and collaborating with Deripaska.
Charles McGonigal, 54, was previously the special counterintelligence agent at the New York field office
Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska was sanctioned by the US and then charged with violating it last year. Pictured: With Vladimir Putin in 2017
McGonigal is accused of violating US sanctions by trying to remove Deripaska – who is worth $1.7 billion – from the sanctions list.
He is one of the highest-ranking former FBI officials ever charged with a crime.
Both McGonigal and Shestakov are accused of receiving payments through shell companies and forging signatures to hide that Deripaska paid them.
According to the Justice Department, the two, who both worked for the FBI and investigated oligarchs, agreed to investigate a rival oligarch in exchange for payments from Deripaska.
Both men are charged with money laundering and violating sanctions – with each of the four charges carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison.
In 2021, the FBI searched Deripaska’s $15 million Washington DC home, his $42.5 million property on the Upper East Side, and his $4.5 million West Village townhouse.
In 2021, the FBI raided Deripaska’s $15 million Washington DC home (pictured), his $42.5 million estate on the Upper East Side and his $4.5 million West townhouse Village
Deripaska, 55, is one of the few oligarchs who has criticized Putin for instigating a war in Ukraine, calling it madness
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Michael Driscoll said in a statement, “The FBI is committed to enforcing economic sanctions designed to protect the United States and our allies, particularly from hostile activities by a foreign government and its actors.
“Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska wield global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and have been linked to acts of bribery, extortion and violence.
“As alleged, Mr. McGonigal and Mr. Shestakov, both US citizens, acted on behalf of Deripaska and fraudulently used a US entity to cover up their activities in violation of US sanctions.
“Once sanctions are imposed, they must be enforced equally against all US citizens to be successful. There are no exceptions for anyone, including a former FBI official like Mr. McGonigal.”
Shestakov was also accused of lying to FBI investigators about his relationship with the oligarch.
Deripaska and its aluminum giant Rusal have been under US sanctions since 2018 for malicious activities in both Russia-annexed Crimea and Ukraine
After leaving the FBI, McGonigal worked for Deripaska through a law firm, earning at least $25,000 as an “investigator.” ‘
He was then paid $51,000 and $41,790 for several months working directly for the Russian.
McGonigal told friends he works for a “rich Russian” and insisted his work was legal.
US prosecutors have unsealed a separate case against McGonigal, alleging that he accepted $225,000 from an individual who was an employee of a foreign intelligence agency.
Documents say he hid the relationship from the FBI between August 2017 and September 2018, shortly before his retirement.
He is accused of traveling abroad with the “person with business interests in Europe” and meeting with foreigners.
The person is described in the court documents as an Albanian national who was employed by a Chinese energy company.
He was reportedly worth $7 billion in 2018 when he was sanctioned by the US government for
In December 2022, he had his $1 billion hotel complex and marina in Sochi seized after the Kremlin allegedly asked him to “calm down”.
A Russian court ordered the seizure of his $1 billion Imeretinskiy hotel complex and marina in Sochi after the Kremlin told him not to criticize Russia’s war in Ukraine
The individual later served “as an FBI source in a criminal investigation related to foreign policy lobbying,” over which McGonigal had an oversight role.
Deripaska, 55, is one of the few oligarchs who has criticized Putin for instigating a war in Ukraine, calling it madness.
In December 2022, he had his $1 billion hotel complex and marina in Sochi seized after the Kremlin reportedly told him to “calm down”.
The metals magnate, who made his fortune as the founder of aluminum giant Rusal, first spoke out after Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine in February.
Deripaska and its aluminum giant Rusal have been under US sanctions since 2018 for malicious activities in both Russia-annexed Crimea and Ukraine.
He was reportedly worth $7 billion in 2018 when he was sanctioned by the US government.
The science center and the hotel complex, which stretches 1.5 kilometers along the Black Sea coast and includes hotels, apartments and swimming pools, are located next to each other.
Deripaska belongs to a group of businessmen known as the oligarchs, who control large parts of the economy, particularly in the energy and commodities sectors, and have been able to preserve their wealth on condition that they stay out of politics.