Former FBI Counterintelligence Official and Russian Diplomat Indicted for Sanctions and Money Laundering Violations

A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official and a former Russian diplomat have been indicted on charges of violating U.S. sanctions and money laundering.

Charles McGonigal, 54, the former special agent in charge of the FBI’s counterintelligence division in New York, and Sergey Shestakov, a former Russian diplomat turned U.S. citizen who worked as an interpreter for federal courts and prosecutors, were both charged in the scheme.

According to the indictment, McGonigal and Shestakov worked for Russian energy magnate Oleg Deripaska to investigate an unnamed rival Russian oligarch in 2021. The two are accused of working to conceal their activity and of failing to report their contacts with foreign officials to the FBI.

McGonigal is also accused of pursuing business and foreign travel that created a conflict of interest with his role as a federal law enforcement official.

The Justice Department said that McGonigal and Shestakov are both facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The indictment is the latest in a series of cases involving U.S. sanctions on Russia. Deripaska has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018. McGonigal and Shestakov are the latest individuals to be charged with violating those sanctions.