FBI Searches Homes Linked TO Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska

FBI agents earlier in the week reportedly searched two homes connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, Daniel Uria reported for United Press International (UPI).

Photo Insert: BIllionaire oil tycoon Oleg Deripaska is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has associated with one-time Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Agents searched homes in Washington, D.C., and New York City as part of unspecified "law enforcement activity" related to Deripaska, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was indicted by the US Treasury Department in 2018, NBC News and the Washington Post also reported.

A spokeswoman for Deripaska told NBC News both properties belong to his relatives. "The searches are being carried out on the basis of two court orders, connected to US sanctions," the spokeswoman said.

Deripaska, a billionaire oil tycoon, was one of dozens of Russian oligarchs sanctioned in 2018 for what the Treasury Department described as brazen behavior and attacks on Western democracy.

"Deripaska has been investigated for money laundering and has been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering," the Treasury Department said at the time.

He was also an associate of former President Donald Trump's one-time campaign manager Paul Manafort who tried to offer "private briefings" to Deripaska about the 2016 presidential race, according to emails included in the Mueller report.

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