Ex-FBI agent accused of working for Russian oligarch may change plea ... Disgraced FBI official who probed Trump set to plead guilty.
Ex-FBI agent accused of working for Russian oligarch may change plea
Charles McGonigal, a former FBI official who has been charged with working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, arrives at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A former FBI agent accused by U.S. prosecutors of working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska may change his plea in relation to criminal charges of evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, court records showed on Monday.
Charles McGonigal had previously pleaded not guilty. A change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden in Manhattan has been scheduled for Aug. 15.
McGonigal's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the case, declined to comment.
Prosecutors in January said McGonigal, who led the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, received concealed payments from Deripaska in exchange for investigating a rival oligarch and unsuccessfully pushed in 2019 to lift U.S. sanctions on Deripaska.
The charges against McGonigal came as U.S. prosecutors ramped up efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian officials and police their alleged enablers in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Deripaska, the founder of Russian aluminum company Rusal (RUAL.MM), was among two dozen Russian oligarchs and government officials blacklisted by Washington in 2018 in reaction to Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
He and the Kremlin have denied any election interference.
Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Mark Porter and Conor Humphries
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reports on the New York federal courts. Previously worked as a correspondent in Venezuela and Argentina.
Published: 22:59 BST, 7 August 2023 | Updated: 00:30 BST, 8 August 2023
A former FBI agent accused by U.S. prosecutors of working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska may change his plea in relation to criminal charges of evading U.S. sanctions and money laundering, court records showed on Monday.
Charles McGonigal had previously pleaded not guilty. A change of plea hearing before U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden in Manhattan has been scheduled for Aug. 15.
McGonigal served as a top FBI counterintelligence official in New York during the Russia probe of former President Donald Trump.
McGonigal's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the case, declined to comment.
Charles McGonigal, former special agent in charge of the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York, is expected to change his plea after being accused of working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska
During a status conference last week, McGonigal lawyer Seth DuCharme said there was a 'decent chance the case is going to be resolved.'
Prosecutors in January said McGonigal, who led the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, received concealed payments from Deripaska in exchange for investigating a rival oligarch and unsuccessfully pushed in 2019 to lift U.S. sanctions on Deripaska.
The charges against McGonigal came as U.S. prosecutors ramped up efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian officials and police their alleged enablers in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Deripaska, the founder of Russian aluminum company Rusal , was among two dozen Russian oligarchs and government officials blacklisted by Washington in 2018 in reaction to Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
Trump has regularly attacked the Russia probe. McGonigal got concealed payments from a Russian oligarch after its conclusion
He and the Kremlin have denied any election interference.
Among the areas probed by former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators is Deripaska's relationship with former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort.
Mueller's report said Manafort told associates to provide Deripaska with internal polling data.
According to prosecutors, McGonigal pocketed $25,000 as an investigator for a law firm, then got payments of $51,000 and $41,790 doing work for Deripaska, during a period from August 2021 to November 2021.
He would try to conceal his employer's identity by referring to him as 'the big guy,' the Washington Times reported.
Comments
Post a Comment