FBI Raids DC, NYC Homes of Oligarch With Ties to Putin

Aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska has also done business with Paul Manafort
By Liz MacGahan,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 19, 2021 3:31 PM CDT
FBI Raids Homes Linked to Russian Oligarch, Putin Ally
File photo of Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska. Federal agents have conducted “law enforcement activity” at the Washington, D.C., home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The wealthy Russian who made his money in the aluminum business is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.   (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

The FBI raided homes linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska Tuesday. The agency didn’t say why they carried out the raids or what they were looking for, saying through a spokesperson only that they were carrying out a "court-authorized law enforcement activity," at a mansion near Embassy Row in Washington, DC, per the AP. FBI agents were also present at a house in Greenwich Village in New York that Deripaska owns through a company in Delaware. Deripaska made his money, reputedly billions, in the aluminum business, but was sanctioned by the Trump administration in 2018, along with other oligarchs with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also has done business with Paul Manafort.

The sanctions against the billionaire and his companies were imposed by the Treasury Department as part of the response to allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections, and other cyberattacks. Deripaska sued to have the sanctions dropped, but a judge upheld them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Years ago, neighbors used to see Deripaska at the DC home overseeing renovations; it is owned by one of his companies, the Washington Post reports. The oligarch himself hasn’t been in the US in years, having been denied a visa, but NBC News reports he recently was given diplomatic status by the Russian government. A spokesperson for Deripaska said the houses are owned by relatives. (More Russian oligarchs stories.)

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