FBI searches NYC, DC properties in probe of Russian oligarch with ties to Kremlin
The FBI on Tuesday searched properties in New York City and Washington, D.C., as part of an investigation into Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch who had been previously sanctioned by the United States, multiple law enforcement officials told ABC News.
The reason for the searches was not immediately clear and the FBI declined to offer details, beyond a spokesperson telling ABC News that agents were at Deripaska's D.C. home "conducting law enforcement activity pursuant to an ongoing investigation."
No charges have been filed against Deripaska, two sources said.
FBI agents in New York City searched a townhouse in Manhattan's West Village neighborhood, a law enforcement source told ABC News. News of the FBI's search of Deripaska's D.C. home was first reported by NBC News.
The aluminum magnate was among two dozen Russians sanctioned in 2018 by the Treasury Department as punishment for "the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly malign activities in the world," according to Treasury officials.
Since his sanction, Deripaska has not been to his D.C. residence, a source said.
A lawsuit he filed seeking to lift the sanctions said that they had devastated his wealth.
Deripaska, who is known to be close to the Russian government, has been investigated in the past for money laundering. He was also mentioned in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, due to his association with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
