A former top FBI counterintelligence official, Charles McGonigal, has been accused of allegedly having connections to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch who has been subject to sanctions. While still employed by the FBI, he is also accused of taking $225,000 from a former Albanian intelligence agent.
In exchange for covert payments from Deripaska, a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Charles McGonigal is accused of looking into a rival oligarch. Due to Deripaska's close ties to the Russian government and its invasion of the Crimea area from Ukraine four years prior, America imposed sanctions on him in 2018.
The aluminum billionaire was then indicted in September last year over a scheme to obtain US citizenship for his two children in violation of the sanctions.
McGonigal, 54, is a former special agent in charge of the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York. He retired in 2018. He was arrested Saturday at John F. Kennedy International Airport when returning from international travel, a source familiar with the arrest told CNN.
McGonigal supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska, according to the government.
Prosecutors say that in 2021, he and Sergey Shestakov, a 69-year-old former Soviet and Russian diplomat, "conspired to provide services to Deripaska," violating the sanctions.
"Specifically, following their negotiations with an agent of Deripaska, McGonigal and Shestakov agreed to and did investigate a rival Russian oligarch in return for concealed payments from Deripaska," said a Department of Justice statement.
McGonigal has been charged with four counts, including conspiring to evade US sanctions, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and money laundering.
Each carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Deripaska is one of the most well-known oligarchs in Russia and, and his name came up during the Trump-Russia investigation. He was mentioned dozens of times in special counsel Robert Mueller's report, which says he is "closely aligned" with Putin, according to CNN.
(With inputs from agencies)
