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
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.
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.
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.
Three FBI SUV vehicles converged on the two-storey home in New York, with agents carrying out boxes and rolls of bubble wrap which they put in a white van. Officers blocked off access to the street and prevented local residents from entering it.
