Ex-FBI agent arrested over links to Russian oligarch trends now Ex-FBI agent in charge of New York's Counterintelligence division arrested over links to a Russian oligarch who was charged with violating US sanctions Charles McGonigal, 54, has been charged with violating US sanctions He was previously in charge of New York's counterintelligence division Law enforcement says he has links to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska By Emma James For Dailymail.Com Published: 17:56 GMT, 23 January 2023 | Updated: 18:07 GMT, 23 January 2023 7 Viewcomments A former FBI official has been arrested over his ties to a Russian oligarch charged with violating US sanctions. Charles McGonigal, 54, was previously the special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the New York Field office. He was arrested on Saturday afternoon after arriving at JFK following a trip to Sri Lanka and retired from the FBI in 2018. Law enforcement says he has links to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire sanctioned by the US and then charged with violating them last year. Charles McGonigal, 54, was previously the special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the New York Field office Court interpreter, Sergey Shestakov, was also charged in connection with case. He worked with Deripaska. McGonigal is charged with violating US sanctions by trying to get Deripaska off the sanctions list. He is one of the highest-ranking former FBI officials ever charged with a crime. Both McGonigal and Shestakov are accused of receiving payments through shell companies and forging signatures to keep it secret that Deripaska was paying them. According to the Justice Department, the pair, who both worked for the FBI and investigated oligarchs, agreed to investigate a Rival oligarch in return for payments from Deripaska. This is a developing story. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility