Former FBI Agent Gets 50 Months in Prison for Providing Services to Sanctioned Oligarch

Charles McGonigal, a former FBI agent in the New York Counterintelligence Division, was sentenced to 50 months in prison for his work with sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced in a Dec. 14 news release. McGonigal in August pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, including by, following his departure from the FBI, investigating a rival Russian oligarch in return for payments from Deripaska (see 2308160029).

The former agent attempted to hide the payments by "not directly naming Deripaska," using shell companies and a forged signature in the contract and using these same companies to send and receive the payments, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

McGonigal "violated the trust his country placed in him by using his high-level position at the FBI to prepare for his future in business. Once he left public service, he jeopardized our national security by providing services to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian tycoon who acts as Vladimir Putin’s agent," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. "Today’s sentence is a reminder that anyone who violates United States sanctions -- particularly those in whom this country has placed its trust -- will pay a heavy penalty.”

In addition to sentencing the former agent to prison, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden imposed a $40,000 fine and $17,500 forfeiture and sentenced McGonigal to three years of supervised release.