FBI raids New York, Washington homes of Russian linked to 2016 US interference

Washington: FBI agents raided homes in Washington and New York City linked to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin and to Paul Manafort, the onetime chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential campaign.

The agents carried boxes out of a mansion in one of Washington’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, with yellow “CRIME SCENE DO NOT ENTER” tape across the front yard and towed away a vehicle.

A federal agent walks boxes to a home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Washington, DC.Credit: AP

A spokesperson for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) the agency was conducting a court-authorised law enforcement activity at the home, which the Washington Post has previously reported was linked to the Russian oligarch.

The specific reason for sealing off and searching the Washington mansion was not immediately clear, and the FBI spokesperson did not provide details.

A representative for Deripaska said the home, as well as the one in New York, belong to relatives of the oligarch. Reuters could not immediately determine Deripaska’s whereabouts.

A spokesperson for the FBI’s New York field office confirmed “law enforcement activity” at the home in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighbourhood but declined further comment.

Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska in 2015.Credit: AP

Deripaska, 53, has been under US sanctions since 2018. Washington imposed sanctions on him and other influential Russians because of their ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin after alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Deripaska once employed Manafort, who was convicted in 2018 on tax evasion and bank fraud charges and was among the central figures scrutinised under investigations of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which Moscow denies.

Russia used Manafort and the WikiLeaks website to try to help Trump win that election, a Republican-led Senate committee said in its final review of the matter released last year. While still president last December, Trump pardoned Manafort.

Federal agents stand outside a home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Washington, DC.Credit: AP

The Senate report found Putin personally directed the Russian efforts to hack computer networks and accounts affiliated with the Democratic Party and leak information damaging to Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.

The report also alleged Manafort collaborated with Russians, including Deripaska and a Russian intelligence officer before, during and after the election.

Deripaska owns part of Rusal via his stake in the giant aluminum producer’s parent company En+ Group . Washington previously dropped sanctions against both companies but kept them on Deripaska.

Rusal’s Moscow-listed shares extended losses after the report of the raid on the Washington home, falling 6 per cent.

The representative for Deripaska, who declined to give their name because of company policy, confirmed the raid on both homes and said they belong to Deripaska’s family rather than the executive himself.

The representative said the searches were carried out on the basis of two court warrants related to the US sanctions but provided no further details.

Reuters

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