[ad_1]
NEW YORK (AP) — A former top FBI counterintelligence official was ordered Thursday to spend more than four years in prison for a breach. sanctions on russia From working for a Russian oligarch to dishing dirt on a wealthy rival after ending his government career.
Charles McGonigal was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in Manhattan federal court by Judge Jennifer H. Reardon, who said McGonigal had repeatedly used sanctions to put economic pressure on Russia to achieve results without military force. Violation caused harm to national security. He was also fined $40,000.
He handed down the sentence after prosecutors framed McGonigal’s crimes as a greedy money-grab, in which he leveraged the knowledge he gained in his FBI career to cozy up to a notorious Russian oligarch, a billionaire industrialist. oleg deripaska,
Deripaska has been under US sanctions since 2018 for reasons related to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
When given the chance to speak, McGonigal told the judge in a voice that sometimes caused her to stumble that she was “deeply remorseful and regretful of my actions.”
political cartoon
He said, “I recognize more than ever that I have betrayed the trust and confidence of those close to me.” “For the rest of my life, I will struggle to regain that faith.”
During his August plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Deripaska told the judge that he had given Deripaska $17,000 to help him gather incriminating information about another Russian oligarch. who was a business competitor.
Prosecutors say McGonigle was also trying to help get Deripaska off the sanctions list and $650,000 to $3 million for the discovery of electronic files revealing $500 million of hidden assets belonging to the oligarch’s business rival. Was negotiating with co-conspirators to receive a fee of Rs.
McGonigle, who lives in New York, was separately charged in federal court in Washington, DC, with concealing at least $225,000 in cash he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence officer while working for the FBI. He faces sentencing in that case on February 16. Reardon ordered him to report to prison on February 26.
McGonigal was the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in New York from 2016 to 2018. He supervised investigations into Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska.
The US District Court for the District of Columbia has affirmed sanctions against Deripaska, finding that there is evidence that he acted as an agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Copyright 2023 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link