Russian Oligarch and Allies Indicted For Sanctions Evasion
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging Russian oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska,and two associates with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska and one of his business entities.
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On Sept. 29, the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI unsealed an indictment charging Russian oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska, Russian national Natalia Mikhaylovna Bardakova, and Russian-American Olga Shriki with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska and one of his business entities, Basic Element Limited. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Deripaska on April 6, 2018, in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Ukraine, according to FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll. Deripaska reportedly employed Bardakova and Shriki to violate these sanctions by “utiliz[ing] U.S. financial institutions to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of services for his benefit in the United States.”
The Justice Department also charged Shriki with obstruction of justice for destroying electronic records in relation to her participation in Deripaska’s plan to evade U.S. sanctions, and also charged Bardakova for making false statements to the FBI. Shriki was also arrested this morning for facilitating illicit travel by Ekaterina Olegovna Voronina to enter the U.S.to give birth to Deripaska’s child. Voronina was charged with making false statements to federal agents.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said that the indictment of Deripaska and his associates, “signals the United States’ ongoing support for the people of Ukraine in the face of continued Russian belligerence.”
You can read the indictment here or below:
