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FBI raids Washington, New York homes linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska

  • Oligarch has ties to Vladimir Putin and to Trump ally Paul Manafort, and has been under US sanctions since 2018
  • Sanctions imposed on Deripaska prevent him from doing business or owning property in the US

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The FBI a mansion linked to Putin ally Oleg Deripaska in the Embassy Row neighbourhood of Washington on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

FBI agents on Tuesday raided Washington and New York City homes linked to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire under US sanctions who once employed Paul Manafort, a chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential campaign.

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Two sources familiar with the investigation said the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan, also known as the Southern District of New York, is leading the probe related to Deripaska, a metals industry magnate with Kremlin ties.

In Washington, FBI agents sealed off and searched a mansion in one of the US capital’s wealthiest neighbourhoods, carrying boxes out of the house, which had yellow “CRIME SCENE DO NOT ENTER” tape across the front, and towing away a vehicle.

A spokesperson for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed 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.

Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska in July 2015. File photo: AP
Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska in July 2015. File photo: AP

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

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