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Former Top F.B.I. Official in New York Charged in Money Laundering Former Top F.B.I. Official in New York Charged With Aiding Oligarch
(about 2 hours later)
A former high-level F.B.I. official has been indicted on charges that he conspired to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia by taking secret payments from a Russian oligarch, Oleg V. Deripaska, in return for investigating a rival oligarch, the authorities said on Monday. A former high-level F.B.I. official has been indicted in New York and Washington, D.C., on charges of taking money from a former foreign intelligence service agent and conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia by taking secret payments from a Russian oligarch, Oleg V. Deripaska, the authorities said on Monday.
The former official, Charles McGonigal, who had been the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s counterintelligence division in New York before he retired in 2018, had supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Mr. Deripaska, the government said. The former official, Charles McGonigal, who had been the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s counterintelligence division in New York before he retired in 2018, had supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Mr. Deripaska, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Mr. McGonigal, 54, violated U.S. sanctions by agreeing to help Mr. Deripaska, who himself was indicted last year on sanctions charges. Federal prosecutors said Mr. McGonigal, 54, broke U.S. law by agreeing to help Mr. Deripaska, who himself was indicted last year on sanctions charges, attempt to get off the sanctions list and by investigating a rival oligarch. The charges are an extremely serious and rare accusation against an F.B.I. official, and they demonstrate that the reach of Russia’s oligarchs can extend into the heart of American law enforcement.
“This is an unprecedented case, which rightly or wrongly will fuel political criticism and concern about the F.B.I.,” said Jonathan C. Poling, a former prosecutor in the Justice Department’s national security division. “The charges demonstrate D.O.J. clearly intends to send a strong message, including to former officials that worked in national security fields.”
The indictment unsealed in Washington on Monday charged that Mr. McGonigal, while working for the bureau and after he retired, concealed from the F.B.I. a relationship with a former Albanian intelligence officer from whom he received $225,000 in cash. That person became an F.B.I. source in a criminal investigation involving foreign political lobbying that Mr. McGonigal supervised, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Michael J. Driscoll, the assistant director in charge of the F.B.I.’s New York office, said the bureau was committed to the enforcement of economic sanctions designed to protect the United States and its allies.
“Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska perform global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion and violence,” Mr. Driscoll said. “There are no exceptions for anyone, including a former F.B.I. official like Mr. McGonigal.”
The indictment unsealed on Monday in Federal District Court in Manhattan charges Mr. McGonigal with one count of violating U.S. sanctions, one count of money laundering and two conspiracy counts for what it said were attempts to aid Mr. Deripaska.
Mr. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate with ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, was a client of Paul Manafort, who for several months in 2016 served as Donald J. Trump’s campaign chairman and in 2018 was convicted of financial fraud and other crimes.Mr. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate with ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, was a client of Paul Manafort, who for several months in 2016 served as Donald J. Trump’s campaign chairman and in 2018 was convicted of financial fraud and other crimes.
The indictment unsealed in Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday charges the former F.B.I. official, Mr. McGonigal, with one count of violating U.S. sanctions, one count of money laundering and two conspiracy counts. Mr. McGonigal’s lawyer, Seth D. DuCharme, said his client intends to plead not guilty when he appears in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.
Mr. McGonigal’s lawyer, Seth D. DuCharme, said his client intends to plead not guilty at his appearance in federal court in Manhattan on Monday.
“Charlie served the United States capably, effectively, for decades,” said Mr. DuCharme. “We have closely reviewed the accusations made by the government and we look forward to receiving discovery so we can get a view on what the evidence is upon which the government intends to rely.”“Charlie served the United States capably, effectively, for decades,” said Mr. DuCharme. “We have closely reviewed the accusations made by the government and we look forward to receiving discovery so we can get a view on what the evidence is upon which the government intends to rely.”
The indictment also charged a second man, Sergey Shestakov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat who later became an American citizen and worked as a Russian interpreter for courts and government offices. Mr. Shestakov’s lawyer, Bennett M. Epstein, declined to comment. The indictment also charged a second man, Sergey Shestakov, 69, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat who later became an American citizen and who worked as a Russian interpreter for courts and government offices. Mr. Shestakov’s lawyer, Bennett M. Epstein, declined to comment.
Mr. McGonigal was arrested on Saturday at about 2 p.m. at John F. Kennedy Airport, according a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and Mr. Shestakov was arrested at about the same time at his home in Morris, Conn.
Mr. McGonigal’s arrest shocked former colleagues who worked closely with him. They said he primarily investigated Russian counterintelligence and espionage during his lengthy career with the F.B.I. Mr. McGonigal also took on extremely sensitive assignments in the intelligence community, leading an F.B.I. team that investigated why C.I.A. informants in China were being arrested and killed.Mr. McGonigal’s arrest shocked former colleagues who worked closely with him. They said he primarily investigated Russian counterintelligence and espionage during his lengthy career with the F.B.I. Mr. McGonigal also took on extremely sensitive assignments in the intelligence community, leading an F.B.I. team that investigated why C.I.A. informants in China were being arrested and killed.
Adam Goldman and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting. The charging of a former or current F.B.I. senior executive appears to be extremely rare. In 2018, Andrew G. McCabe, the former acting and deputy director, was referred for prosecution after the Justice Department inspector general accused him of misleading investigators. But the case was eventually dropped. In 1996, a senior F.B.I. official was charged with obstruction in connection with the deadly 1992 standoff in a remote section of Idaho called Ruby Ridge. Nearly two years earlier, the acting F.B.I. director and his deputy, along with another official in charge of counterintelligence, were indicted on conspiracy charges. The charges were the first time an F.B.I. director or former bureau executive had been charged criminally.
Adam Goldman contributed reporting.