New allegations have surfaced in the media that the U.S. government believes Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska has deep and secretive financial links with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Financial Times broke the news Friday that Deripaska, the founder of Basic Element, a Russian industrial group with interests in aluminum, energy, construction and agriculture, has been accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of money laundering on behalf of Putin.
The FT cites a letter it reviewed that was sent by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to Deripaskaâs lawyers last month, claiming that in 2016 Deripaska was âreportedly identified as one of the individuals holding assets and laundering funds on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin.â The Office of Foreign Assets Control, an arm of the U.S. Treasury Department, imposed sanctions on Deripaska and his companies in April 2018.
A spokesperson for Deripaska did not reply to a request for comment from Forbes.
Deripaskaâs spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the FT that the allegations of money laundering were ânot trueâ and that âThese are unsupported allegations.â
The FT claims that the Office of Foreign Assets Control is elaborating on the reasons for its decision to sanction Deripaska but will only reveal âunclassifiedâ and âreleasableâ justifications for targeting the Russian billionaire.
In the latest development in the long-running spat between U.S. and Russia over whatâs described in a 2014 Executive Order as âthe Situation in Ukraine,â the U.S. Treasury has cited reports of financial foul play to justify the sanctions against Deripaska and some of his companies in 2018.
In April 2018 U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin accused the Russian government of engaging in âmalign activityâ including the occupation of Crimea and attempts to âinstigate violenceâ in eastern Ukraine. Adding that âRussian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their governmentâs destabilizing activities,â specifically targeting Deripaska for âthreatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering.â
Mr. Deripaska sued the U.S. Treasury Department in March 2019, Â alleging that the U.S. violated âthe rule of lawâ by targeting him âsimply because it is politically expedient or publicly popular to do so.â The suit claimed that âDeripaska, a private citizen of Russia, became the latest victim of this countryâs political infighting and ongoing reaction to Russiaâs purported interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.â And the suit said the allegations against him âconsist of nothing more than false rumor and innuendo and originate from decades-old defamatory attacks originated by his business competitors.â
In that same lawsuit, Deripaska claimed that U.S. actions against his business led to the âwholesale devastationâ of his âwealth, reputation, and economic livelihood.â Documents claim that Deripaskaâs net worth has plunged by â$7.5 billion, or approximately 81%.â Forbesanalyzed these claims after the suit was filed and arrived at a different conclusion: Deripaskaâs net worth fell about 47%, to an estimated $3.6 billion, between the time he was put on a U.S. sanctions list and the date the lawsuit was filed. Forbes currently pegs Deripaskaâs net worth at $4.5 billion.
Deripaskaâs suit against the U.S. Treasury also citesâas an example of what his lawyers claim is the bias against himâa 2019 tweet from U.S. Senator Charles Schumer: âHow can Oleg Deripaskaâa Russian oligarch who interferes in democracies in Europe & Americaâhave the gall to show at Munich Security Conference? The conference talks about holding back Russian interference! EU friends: We urge imposing additional sanctions on Putin’s cronies.â
A spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury has not replied to a request for comment.