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

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WASHINGTON – FBI agents on Tuesday raided homes in Washington and New York City linked to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire with ties to the Kremlin, and Paul Manafort, the former chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential campaign.

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Officers removed boxes from a mansion in one of Washington’s wealthiest neighborhoods, with yellow “CRIME SCENE DO NOT ENTER” tape in the front yard and towed a vehicle.

A spokesman for the US Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the agency was conducting court-authorized policing at the house, which the Washington Post previously reported was linked to the Russian oligarch.

The specific reason for sealing and searching the Washington mansion was not immediately clear, and the FBI spokesperson did not provide details.

A representative for Deripaska said both the house and the one in New York belong to relatives of the oligarch. Reuters could not immediately determine Deripaska’s whereabouts.

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A spokesman for the FBI’s New York field office confirmed “police activity” at the home in New York City’s Greenwich Village neighborhood, but declined to comment further.

Deripaska, 53, has been under US sanctions since 2018. Washington imposed sanctions on him and other influential Russians because of his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin after alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Deripaska once employed Manafort, who was convicted in 2018 on charges of tax evasion and bank fraud and was among the central figures analyzed under investigations of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, which Moscow denies.

Russia used Manafort and the WikiLeaks website to try to help Trump win those elections, a Republican-led Senate committee said in its final review of the matter published last year. While he was still president last December, Trump pardoned Manafort.

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The Senate report found that Putin personally led Russian efforts to hack into computer networks and accounts affiliated with the Democratic Party and leak information damaging to Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton.

The report also alleges that Manafort collaborated with the Russians, including Deripaska and a Russian intelligence officer before, during and after the elections.

Deripaska owns part of Rusal through its stake in the aluminum-producing giant’s parent company En + Group. Washington previously removed sanctions against both companies, but kept them on Deripaska.

Rusal’s Moscow-listed shares extended losses after the report of the raid on the Washington house, falling 6%.

Deripaska’s representative, who declined to give his name due to company policy, confirmed the raid on both houses and said they belong to Deripaska’s family and not the executive himself.

The representative said the searches were carried out on the basis of two court orders related to the US sanctions, but did not provide further details.