FBI raids Washington, Manhattan homes tied to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska
FBI agents searched two homes Tuesday tied to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is not allowed to do business or own property in the U.S. under sanctions imposed in 2018. The FBI said the raid on the mansion in Washington, D.C., was a "court-authorized law enforcement activity," while an FBI spokesman in New York said agents were carrying out a "law enforcement operation related to an ongoing investigation" at a three-story townhouse in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.
The raids were part of an ongoing criminal investigation, The Washington Post reports. Larisa Belyaeva, a Deripaska spokeswoman, said the FBI was "carrying out a search of two houses — located in Washington and New York — belonging to Mr. Deripaska's relatives. The searches are being carried out on the basis of two court orders, connected to U.S. sanctions. The houses do not belong to Mr. Deripaska."
At the multimillion-dollar mansion near Washington's Embassy Row, "Deripaska was known to neighbors on the street as the owner of the home," had "directed major renovations, and has visited the house several times since 2010," the Post reports. In an unsuccessful lawsuit Deripaska filed to get the U.S. sanctions lifted, his lawyers said the Washington mansion is owned by a limited liability company incorporated in Delaware and owned by a trust in the British Virgin Islands that Deripaska established in 2006, The Associated Press reports. Property records also tie him to the Manhattan townhouse.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Treasury Department said in 2018 that "Deripaska has been investigated for money laundering, and has been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering." Sanctions on Deripaska businesses were lifted later in 2018.
"What role, if any, Deripaska may have played in the 2016 U.S. presidential race remained one of the lingering mysteries of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe into Russian election interference," the Post reports. Deripaska, 54, is a former business associate of Paul Manafort, who ran former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for months and was later pardoned by him for multiple financial crimes. In 2016 emails, "Manafort tried to offer 'private briefings' about the presidential race to Deripaska — apparently, as one of the emails put it, to 'get whole,'" the Post reports. Deripaska had sued Manfort in 2014 for mishandling a $19 million business investment.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Magazine solutions - May 10, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 10, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - May 10, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 10, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
'Box Trump in for real if he pulls another stunt. Put him behind bars.'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Chechnya in jeopardy: what would death of Ramzan Kadyrov mean for Putin?
Today's Big Question Strongman leader is 'terminally ill', stoking fears of armed conflict in the North Caucasus
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'A speaker courageous enough to stand up to the extremists in his own party'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published