The residence in Washington of the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was searched Tuesday, October 19 by the US federal police, the FBI.
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The FBI said in a statement that it was carrying out "
court-authorized police activities
" in this imposing mansion located in an upscale neighborhood of the US capital.
"
We have no additional information to give at this stage,
" said an FBI spokesperson.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Oleg Deripaska in 2018, citing an investigation for money laundering, extortion and racketeering.
"
Deripaska is also suspected of having offered bribes to a government official, of having ordered the murder of a businessman and of having links with a group of the Russian Mafia
", had then specified the Treasury.
Oligarch's complaint dismissed by federal judge
Oleg Deripaska sued the Treasury in March 2019, accusing it of unlawfully targeting it, but the complaint was dismissed this year by a federal judge.
In his complaint, the Russian oligarch claimed to have seen his fortune plummet by $ 7.5 billion after the implementation of sanctions against him and six other Russian oligarchs.
Read alsoA Russian oligarch buys Dia at the scrapyard
He added that his shares in the Russian aluminum giant Rusal had plunged and that to avoid setbacks for this group as well as its subsidiary En + and other companies, he had been forced to transfer his interests to third parties. . The Treasury then removed the sanctions against Rusal and two other companies after the oligarch's decision to reduce his stakes in their capital. But he kept them for himself, which prevents third parties from doing business with him.
Oleg Deripaska's name was frequently cited in the investigation into Moscow's interference in Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. According to documents, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort had shared confidential information with the Russian oligarch as well as an agent of the Russian intelligence services, Konstantin Kilimnik.
Paul Manafort was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for various frauds, but Donald Trump pardoned him shortly before leaving the White House.