A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official has been arrested in New York.Charles McGonigal, 54, was the head of the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York until his retirement in 2018. The department, in particular, conducted investigations against Russian oligarchs, among whom was the owner of the company Rusal, Oleg Deripaska.McGonigel and his accomplice, US citizen and former Russian diplomat Sergei Shestakov, were arrested for violating US sanctions. They are notably charged with criminal conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, criminal conspiracy to launder money and money laundering.They are both accused of illegal cooperation and of having received money from Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska close to the Kremlin.
According to investigators McGonigal tried in 2019 to facilitate the lifting of sanctions against Deripaska, imposed on him by US authorities in 2018 for his involvement in interfering in the 2016 presidential election.Deripaska denies any involvement in the crime and unsuccessfully filed lawsuits against the US Department of Justice in 2019.Additionally, the indictment states that in 2021 McGonigal agreed to investigate Deripaska’s competitor, another top Russian businessman. On the instructions of Deripaska’s representative, he had to find out about his competitor’s business relations, whether he had hidden assets outside of Russia and a second citizenship.In documents of the US Department of Justice, Deripaska’s competitor is referred to as “Oligarch-2”, his name is not called.The media reported that Deripaska’s Rusal company had been trying for several years to take control of Norilsk Nickel, the company of businessman Vladimir Potanin.Another company associated with Deripaska, En+, was negotiating in August 2021 with Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s AFK Sistema over sharing the assets of cosmetics company Natura Siberica.The indictment says McGonigal received approximately $125,000 from Deripaska’s representative, for which he used an offshore company in Cyprus. He also tried to hide his relationship with the oligarch by referring to him in his correspondence as a “friend from Vienna”, “know who”, “great man”, “rich Russian” or “customer”.Court documents also note that McGonigal interacted with a representative of Deripaska, who is suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence and is referred to as “Agent-1.”They were introduced by Sergei Shestakov, who was arrested in the same case, when McGonigal was still an FBI officer.Additionally, according to prosecutors, the former FBI officer helped secure ‘Agent 1”s daughter as an intern at the New York Police Department, which is engaged in counterterrorism and collection. information.While at the FBI, McGonigal investigated Donald Trump’s ties to Russia , The New York Times notes.Former US President Donald Trump said McGonigal was investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia and that he himself was involved in illegally receiving money from Russia .If convicted, McGonigal and Shestakov could face up to 20 years in prison on each of five counts.
The name of Deripaska, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes magazine in 2023 at 3 billion dollars, has appeared several times in investigations related to Russia .
According to investigators McGonigal tried in 2019 to facilitate the lifting of sanctions against Deripaska, imposed on him by US authorities in 2018 for his involvement in interfering in the 2016 presidential election.Deripaska denies any involvement in the crime and unsuccessfully filed lawsuits against the US Department of Justice in 2019.Additionally, the indictment states that in 2021 McGonigal agreed to investigate Deripaska’s competitor, another top Russian businessman. On the instructions of Deripaska’s representative, he had to find out about his competitor’s business relations, whether he had hidden assets outside of Russia and a second citizenship.In documents of the US Department of Justice, Deripaska’s competitor is referred to as “Oligarch-2”, his name is not called.The media reported that Deripaska’s Rusal company had been trying for several years to take control of Norilsk Nickel, the company of businessman Vladimir Potanin.Another company associated with Deripaska, En+, was negotiating in August 2021 with Vladimir Yevtushenkov’s AFK Sistema over sharing the assets of cosmetics company Natura Siberica.The indictment says McGonigal received approximately $125,000 from Deripaska’s representative, for which he used an offshore company in Cyprus. He also tried to hide his relationship with the oligarch by referring to him in his correspondence as a “friend from Vienna”, “know who”, “great man”, “rich Russian” or “customer”.Court documents also note that McGonigal interacted with a representative of Deripaska, who is suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence and is referred to as “Agent-1.”They were introduced by Sergei Shestakov, who was arrested in the same case, when McGonigal was still an FBI officer.Additionally, according to prosecutors, the former FBI officer helped secure ‘Agent 1”s daughter as an intern at the New York Police Department, which is engaged in counterterrorism and collection. information.While at the FBI, McGonigal investigated Donald Trump’s ties to Russia , The New York Times notes.Former US President Donald Trump said McGonigal was investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia and that he himself was involved in illegally receiving money from Russia .If convicted, McGonigal and Shestakov could face up to 20 years in prison on each of five counts.
The name of Deripaska, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes magazine in 2023 at 3 billion dollars, has appeared several times in investigations related to Russia .
