Former FBI official sentenced to 4 years in prison for cooperation with Russian oligarch

A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence officer Charles McGonigal was sentenced to four years in prison for cooperation with a Russian oligarch. This was reported by the BBC, according to UNN.

Details

In August, 55-year-old Charles McGonigal pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He is one of the highest-ranking FBI agents ever charged with the crime.

He is also accused of concealing $225,000 (£176,000) in payments from an Albanian agent.Prosecutors had sought five years in prison. Before his sentencing on Thursday in New York, McGonigal expressed regret for his actions.

I have committed a felony, and as a former FBI Special Agent in Charge, this causes me extreme emotional and physical pain. I stand before you today with a deep sense of remorse,

McGonigal was a special agent in charge of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division in New York City until his retirement in 2018. In this position, he was tasked with investigating Russian oligarchs.

Prosecutors allege that he and former Russian diplomat Sergei Shestakov violated US sanctions by agreeing to provide services to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.The US imposed sanctions on Deripaska in 2018 after accusing him and several other Russian oligarchs and officials of "criminal activity around the world".

Prosecutors noted that the defendant had agreed to help Deripaska get the sanctions lifted. After his arrest in January, the former FBI agent initially pleaded not guilty.

In court filings, prosecutors said McGonigal "abused the skills and influence entrusted to him by his country, working in secret against the very threats he had previously protected it from."

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