Charles McGonigal was a former head of counterintelligence in the Federal Bureau of Investigation New York City field office.
In 2016, McGonigal was named Section Chief of the Cyber-Counterintelligence Coordination Section of the Counterintelligence Division. On October 4, 2016, it was announced that McGonigal was named "Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office", appointed by James Comey. McGonigal retired from the FBI in 2018.
An angry ex-love (Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
) tipped the feds off to some of McGonigal's misdeeds before his arrest last week. Charles McGonigal, who was part of the FBI probe of the Trump campaign’s Russia ties, has been charged with money laundering, lying to the FBI, and taking money to help a sanctioned Russian oligarch, among others. In an interview with
Insider. Allison Guerriero said she dated McGonigal for a year, unaware he was married. He spent far more lavishly than an FBI salary would typically allow, she recalled, and she once found a bag of cash in his apartment. But after their fling ended, he revealed he was married and had no plans to leave his wife. She said she was so angry that, after a bout of drinking, she emailed his boss to disclose the affair as well as extensive dealings she’d noticed McGonigal had in Albania. It’s unclear what came of the email but the feds turned up on her doorstep three years later to ask her about McGonigal and some of her allegations regarding Albania appeared in last week’s indictment.
During his FBI career, McGonigal oversaw investigations of Oleg Deripaska - a Russian oligarch close to dictator Vladimir Putin and other oligarchs suspected of various crimes, including espionage. Now the exposure of his illegal connection with Deripaska may provide fresh insights into Trump's tainted 2016 victory.
Among the crimes charged against McGonigal in two lengthy federal indictments is a secret financial relationship with Deripaska and Trump associate Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager, himself convicted of crimes and who Trump pardoned.
On Monday, 54-year-old McGonigal was indicted for money laundering and violating US sanctions law. The Justice Department alleges McGonigal along with a former Russian diplomat turned interpreter for the federal courts - Sergy Shestakov - worked for Deripaska, an aluminum magnate that had been sanctioned by the US in 2018.
Working with an agent for Deripaska, McGonigal and Shestakov sought to hide Deripaska’s involvement by using shell companies and forged signatures on contract documents. The shell companies were allegedly used to send and receive payments from Deripaska, federal prosecutors said.
A
US Senate report says Deripaska'a involvement in a Kentucky aluminum mill is a proxy for the Kremlin.
The Russian firm, United Rusal, agreed last year to invest $200 million in the mill, to create hundreds of long-term jobs in a struggling region of the state if the U.S. managing partner is able to raise enough financing to build the facility, which will cost well over $1.5 billion.
The Republican-led Senate committee released the report detailing the extensive connections between President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign advisers, including Manafort, and people with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.
In September, the Justice Department announced charges against the Deripaska, accusing him of using a web of shell companies to disguise millions of dollars in prohibited business transactions, including the $3 million sale of a California music studio in 2019.
In 2018, Deripaska was included in the Treasury Department enforcement notice as having been "investigated for money laundering, and ... accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering."
While serving as an FBI official, McGonigal had access to then-classified information that led to Treasury's 2018 sanctions against Deripaska.
A year later, McGonigal and Shestakov worked for Deripaska in an unsuccessful bid to have the U.S. sanctions against Deripaska.
The Senate report points out Deripaska is a major-majority owner of an aluminum company that operates internationally, and the report examines Deripaska's efforts to interfere in America's 2016 presidential election, stating: "Deripaska's companies, including RUSAL, are proxies for the Kremlin, including for Russian government influence efforts, economic measures, and diplomatic relations."
McGonigal entered the plea during a brief videoconference arraignment before D.C. District Court Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui. He was allowed to remain free with orders to surrender his passports, not seek replacements, and restrict any U.S. travel to court appearances without written pre-approval.
The hearing followed McGonigal's separate not-guilty plea on Monday to charges in a New York federal indictment of violating U.S. economic sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine. Those charges include allegedly including taking secret payments from a representative of Deripaska. Prosecutors allege McGonigal unsuccessfully tried to get U.S. sanctions lifted from Deripaska.
