Alleged Russian Agent Charged With Conspiracy to Violate Russia Sanctions
Andrii Derkach, a Ukrainian national, was charged under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions on Russia, DOJ announced. Per the indictment unsealed Dec. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Derkach is accused of bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and four counts of money laundering relating to the purchase of two California condominiums. The charges, along with forfeiture action taken on the condominiums, mark the first use of "criminal and forfeiture powers targeting the concealment of ownership by senior foreign political officials" as part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, DOJ said.
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Derkach was sanctioned in 2020 for his role in trying to influence that year's U.S. presidential election. He was an "active Russian agent for over a decade" who "waged a covert influence campaign" to undercut the election's legitimacy. Starting in at least 2013 and continuing after his Office of Foreign Assets Control designation in 2020, Derkach and a co-conspirator allegedly schemed to buy two luxury condominiums in Beverly Hills while hiding the defendant's ownership interest in the properties. The pair used a U.S. financial services professional to try to buy the condominiums -- one to be used by Derkach and the co-conspirator and the other by Derkach's children, DOJ said.
"The conduct of this Kremlin asset, who was sanctioned for trying to poison our democracy, has shown he is ready, willing and capable of exploiting our banking system in order to advance his illicit goals,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. "The U.S. will not be a safe haven where criminals, oligarchs or sanctioned entities can hide their ill-gotten gains or influence our elections. This office, together with our law enforcement partners, will use every tool available to prosecute those who evade sanctions and abuse the U.S. financial system, and we will identify, freeze and seize criminal proceeds whenever and wherever possible."
Along with the indictment, the U.S. Attorney's Office launched a civil forfeiture suit over the condominiums and two financial accounts in light of their alleged involvement in criminal violations of federal money laundering laws, the IEEPA and laws "criminalizing the concealment of assets of senior foreign political figures," DOJ said. The whole operation was conducted under the DOJ's Task Force KleptoCapture -- "an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the U.S." imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Derkach faces up to 30 years in prison but remains at large.