A former special agent in charge of the counterintelligence division of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in New York has been charged Monday with violating U.S. sanctions against Russia in a money laundering case.
«As alleged, Charles McGonigal, a former senior FBI official, and Sergei Shestakov, a court interpreter, violated U.S. sanctions by agreeing to provide services to Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch,» U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a Justice Department statement.
On the other hand, FBI Deputy Director Michael J. Driscoll has assured that «Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska exert global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion and violence».
Both McGonigal and interpreter Shestakov held negotiations in 2018 and agreed to and investigation of a rival Russian oligarch in exchange for undercover payments from Deripaska, for which they are charged with «conspiracy to commit money laundering and also for money laundering.»
The former FBI agent and Shestakov, a former Russian diplomat who later became a U.S. citizen, concealed the oligarch’s name in their emails, used shell companies to sign contracts, and used these entities to send and receive payments from Deripaska.
«They knew that their actions violated sanctions because, among other reasons, while serving as an agent, McGonigal received then-classified information that Deripaska would be added to a list of oligarchs considered for sanctions,» the Justice Department has explained.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
