A former FBI official has been arrested over his ties to a Russian oligarch charged with violating US sanctions. He was arrested on Saturday afternoon after arriving at JFK following a trip to Sri Lanka and retired from the FBI in 2018. Law enforcement says he has links to metal mogul Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who was sanctioned by the US in 2018 and then charged with violating them last year. Both men are facing money laundering charges as well as violating sanctions – with each of the four counts carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison. 'Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska perform global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion, and violence.

Source: The Nation January 23, 2023 20:59 UTC