Russia -

Former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia (DOJ)

Those involved. Charles McGonigal, former Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New York Counterintelligence Division; Sergey Shestakov, former Soviet and Russian diplomat.

Charges with penalties. Conspiracy to Violate International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); Violating IEEPA; Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering; Money Laundering; (maximum of 20 years in prison for both McGonigal and Shestakov). An additional charge of making a false statement against Shestakov (maximum five years in prison).

What happened? McGonigal and Shestakov were indicted for violating U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions by providing prohibited services to Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch. As part of his effort to be delisted as a sanctioned person by OFAC, Deripaska hired a law firm that in turn hired McGonigal, for $25,000 in compensation, as an investigator. Deripaska then directly retained McGonigal and Shestakov to investigate a rival Russian oligarch. McGonigal and Shestakov used shell companies and forged signatures to conceal the payments.

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