US Authorities Arrest Former FBI Agent for Violating Sanctions and Money Laundering

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Charles McGonigal and ex-Soviet and Russian diplomat Sergey Shestakov are suspected of working for businessman Oleg Deripaska, according to the US Department of Justice.

McGonigal and Shestakov were arrested on January 21 in New York City. They are charged with violating US sanctions against Russia, breaking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering itself. Each of these charges could result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Shestakov is also accused of giving false testimony to the FBI.

According to investigators, in 2019, McGonigal and Shestakov attempted to secure the lifting of sanctions imposed on Deripaska by US authorities in 2018. Two years later, the former FBI agent and the translator agreed to investigate a rival of the Russian businessman. The defendants negotiated this work with Deripaska’s associate, trying to conceal the businessman’s personal involvement.

Reportedly, in 2021, the businessman’s intermediary instructed the defendants to uncover the rival’s connections to one of the Russian corporations whose control Deripaska wished to obtain. Additionally, the billionaire was interested in knowing whether the competitor had assets outside of Russia and second citizenship. Ultimately, McGonigal and Shestakov uncovered information about hidden assets worth $500 million belonging to Deripaska's rival through dark web channels.