A UK national was arrested today for conspiracy to violate US sanctions imposed on Russian oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska and wire fraud in connection with the financing of US properties acquired by Deripaska and efforts to expatriate the Deripaska’s artwork in the United States due to misrepresentations. The US government will seek his extradition to the US. Deripaska was previously accused of violating US sanctions in an indictment unsealed on September 29.
In 2014, the president issued Executive Order 13660, which declared a national emergency regarding the situation in Ukraine. To address this national emergency, the President has frozen all properties of individuals determined by the US Treasury Department to be responsible for or complicit in actions or policies that threaten the security, sovereignty or integrity territory of Ukraine, or that materially assist, sponsor or provide support for individuals or entities engaged in such activities. Executive Order 13660 and the regulations issued pursuant thereto prohibit making or receiving any funds, goods, or services from, to, by, or for the benefit of any person designated by the United States Treasury.
On April 6, 2018, the United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Deripaska as a Specially Designated National (SDN), in connection with its discovery that the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation regarding Ukraine constitute an unusual. and an extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States (the OFAC sanctions). According to the US Treasury, Deripaska was sanctioned for acting or allegedly acting on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation, and for operating in the energy sector of the economy of the Russian Federation.
According to court documents, Graham Bonham-Carter, 62, of the United Kingdom, worked for entities controlled by Deripaska from July 2003 to the present. Among other things, Bonham-Carter managed Deripaska’s residential properties located in the United Kingdom andEurope, including a house in Belgravia Square, London. Even after OFAC designated Deripaska, Bonham-Carter continued to work for Deripaska and referred to Deripaska as her “boss.” For example, in an email dated on or about June 18, 2018, Bonham-Carter wrote: “Times a little tough for my boss since the sanctions hit him from the US, so not an ideal time” . In an email dated on or about October 13, 2021, Bonham-Carter wrote: “[‘] It’s all good except for the banks stopping me because of my affiliation with my boss Oleg Deripaska… . I have also been. advised not to go to the US where Oleg still has personal sanctions as the authorities will undoubtedly pull me aside and the questioning could be hours or even days!!
As alleged in the indictment, after the appointment of Deripaska, Bonham-Carter engaged in more than $1 million in illicit transactions to finance real estate properties in the United States for the benefit of Deripaska. Between in or about 2005 and in or about 2008, Deripaska purchased three residential properties in the United States, two in New York City and one in Washington, DC (the United States Properties). The properties were managed by a company called Gracetown Inc. After OFAC imposed sanctions on Deripaska on April 6, 2018, Gracetown Inc. continued to manage Deripaska’s benefit. Shortly after Deripaska’s appointment, Deripaska ordered Bonham-Carter to create a new company to manage Deripaska’s properties. On May 25, 2018, Bonham-Carter wrote in an email that “OVD [ie, Deripaska] wants me to set up my own company to run the house [Belgravia Square] and possibly include Japan , Italy, China and more.” Less than two months later, on or about July 17, 2018, Bonham-Carter incorporated GBCM Limited.
Between in or about March 2021 and in or about December 2021, while employed by Deripaska, Bonham-Carter transmitted payments for the maintenance of United States properties. Bonham-Carter made payments totaling $1,043,964.30 from a bank account in Russia held in the name of GBCM Limited, to bank accounts held by Gracetown Inc. in New York City. Gracetown Inc. used the funds from GBCM Limited to pay various expenses associated with the US properties, including staff salaries, property taxes and other services, and to maintain and maintain the US properties.
As alleged, Bonham-Carter also attempted to illegally transfer artwork purchased by Deripaska from an auction house in New York City to London through misrepresentations that concealed Deripaska’s ownership of the work. art. In May 2021, when the auction house notified her that it had reason to believe the artwork belonged to Deripaska, Bonham-Carter falsely stated that the artwork and a payment of The $12,146 he paid to ship the artwork does not belong to Deripaska. In fact, as Bonham-Carter knew, Deripaska had bought the artwork, it remains his property, and the funds used to pay for the transport would be billed to Deripaska.
Bonham-Carter is charged in a three-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to violate and evade US sanctions, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of violation of IEEPA and a fraudulent account, each of which. count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine each sentence after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
KleptoCapture Task Force Director Andrew C. Adams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division made the announcement.
The New York FBI Office and the Counterintelligence Division are investigating the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice. The UK’s National Crime Agency provided substantial assistance.
The investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture Task Force, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing broad sanctions, export controls and countermeasures. economic measures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, have imposed in response to Russia’s unpredictability. military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2 and out of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine class actions taken by the US government in response to Russian military aggression.
Assistant United States Attorneys Anden Chow and Vladislav Vainberg for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
The charge is only an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
