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“Charles McGonigal the defendant, served in the FBI from 1996 to 2018. During his FBI career, McGonigal worked in Russian counterintelligence and organized crime matters and counter-espionage, among other areas. Beginning in 2016 until his retirement in 2018, McGonigal served as the Special Agent in Charge (“SAC”) of the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI’s New York Field Office. As SAC, McGonigal supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska. Among other things, in 2018, McGonigal, while acting as SAC, received and reviewed a then-classified list of Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin who would be considered for sanctions to be imposed as a result of Russia’s 2014 conflict with Ukraine. Sergey Shestakov, the defendant, served as a translator and as a diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation from 1979 until his retirement in 1993, often in New York, New York. After his retirement, SHESTAKOV continued to work in the New York City area, and maintained residence in Connecticut. Among other employment, SHESTAKOV worked as an interpreter for the federal courts and United States attorneys’ offices in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York…”. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1563476/download

According to someone who worked with him, his “speciality was China”. He was in all sorts of places to potentially cause all sorts of damage to US security.
“Mr. McGonigal entered on duty with the FBI in 1996. He was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime matters… Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Mr. McGonigal was assigned to an investigative response squad, which focused on pending international terrorist threats in the New York City area…. In 2002, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to a supervisory special agent in the Counter-Espionage Section at FBI Headquarters, where he handled several high-profile espionage investigations. In April 2004, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to chief of the Asia-Near East Counterintelligence Unit. In 2006, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to field supervisor of a counter-espionage squad at the Washington Field Office… In 2014, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Baltimore Field Office’s cyber, counterintelligence, counterespionage, and counterproliferation programs…” “Charles McGonigal Named Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office”, October 4, 2016 https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/press-releases/charles-mcgonigal-named-special-agent-in-charge-of-the-counterintelligence-division-for-the-new-york-field-office So, Charles McGonigal was named Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office on October 4, 2016 and assumed the role at the end of October 2016, shortly before the 2016 election. On “October 26, 2016 – Rudy Giuliani went on Fox News to say that then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had “a surprise or two that you’re going to hear about in the next two days.” October 27, 2016 – Comey held a meeting with the Clinton e-mail investigation team at the FBI to discuss obtaining a search warrant for a set of Clinton-related emails the FBI had discovered on Weiner’s laptop… October 28, 2016 – Comey wrote to Congress saying, “In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation.” Lynch and Yates privately said the letter ran afoul of DOJ policy… November 6, 2016 – A second Comey letter to Congress stated, “Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July.”… https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/14/politics/key-dates-fbi-hillary-clinton-emails/index.html

“Trump Blasts Charles McGonigal After Arrest: ‘Rot In Hell”, Jan. 24 2023: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-charles-mcgonigal-russia-arrest-sanctions-1775988

Frank Figliuzzi: “HIS SPECIALTY WAS CHINA. HE ALSO WORKED ORGANIZED CRIME, RUSSIAN ORGANIZED CRIME…” See: “Former top FBI counterintelligence agent arrested” https://youtu.be/1m1lI05pK1Q

“Compromised investigations a concern after arrest of FBI counterintelligence official”: https://youtu.be/LqWaRnKNZA8

1996 is the year that McGonigal started working for the FBI. Does anyone believe that he waited until the end of his career to start being corrupt? Maybe the truth will be revealed at the trial, or maybe never. Did information about McGonigal get exposed in this ongoing mafia trial? “Inside Italy’s biggest mafia trial in decades” BBC News https://youtu.be/PlJfoWQeg7w

The investigation of Ivankov would predate 1996, as these things take years:
Russian “Thief-in-Law Vyacheslav Ivankov’s conviction in New York in 1996 represented the FBI’s first major victory against the new wave of Eurasian organized crime entering America. Subsequent successes included Operation “Trojan Horses,” which dismantled a violent New York City Albanian criminal enterprise that had taken traditional racketeering activity away from the established La Cosa Nostra crime families…” https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2009/february/orgcrime_021309

“Retired FBI Executive Charged with Concealing $225,000 in Cash Received from Former Intelligence Officer
Charles F. McGonigal Arrested in New York
Charles F. McGonigal, 54, a former FBI Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office, has been arrested on charges relating to his receipt of $225,000 in cash from an individual who had business interests in Europe and who had been an employee of a foreign intelligence service, while McGonigal was serving as Special Agent in Charge of FBI counterintelligence efforts in the New York Office. McGonigal retired from the FBI in September of 2018.

According to the nine-count indictment, unsealed today, from August 2017 and continuing through and beyond his retirement from the FBI in September 2018, McGonigal concealed from the FBI the nature of his relationship with a former foreign security officer and businessperson who had ongoing business interests in foreign countries and before foreign governments. Specifically, McGonigal requested and received at least $225,000 in cash from the individual and traveled abroad with the individual and met with foreign nationals. 

The individual later served as an FBI source in a criminal investigation involving foreign political lobbying over which McGonigal had official supervisory responsibility.  McGonigal is accused of engaging in other conduct in his official capacity as an FBI Special Agent in Charge that he believed would benefit the businessperson financially.

McGonigal’s initial appearance in the District of Columbia has not yet been scheduled.
McGonigal is charged with concealing material facts and with six counts of making false statements, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment.

McGonigal is also charged with two counts of falsification of records and documents, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office and Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Los Angeles Field Office is investigating the case, with significant assistance provided by the FBI Washington Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Aloi and Michael Friedman for the District of Columbia and Acting Deputy Chief Evan Turgeon of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Topic(s): 
Countering Nation-State Threats
National Security
Foreign Corruption
Component(s): 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
National Security Division (NSD)
USAO – District of Columbia
Press Release Number: 
23-73
Updated January 23, 2023 “ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/retired-fbi-executive-charged-concealing-225000-cash-received-former-intelligence-officer
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/retired-fbi-executive-charged-concealing-225000-cash-received-outside-source

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 23, 2023
Former Special Agent In Charge Of The New York FBI Counterintelligence Division Charged With Violating U.S. Sanctions On Russia
A Russian Court and Government Interpreter Is Also Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a five-count Indictment charging CHARLES MCGONIGAL and SERGEY SHESTAKOV with violating and conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) and with conspiring to commit money laundering and money laundering.  SHESTAKOV is also charged with making material misstatements to the FBI.  The defendants were arrested on Saturday evening, and they will be presented this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave in Manhattan federal court.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden.  

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Charles McGonigal, a former high-level FBI official, and Sergey Shestakov, a Court interpreter, violated U.S. sanctions by agreeing to provide services to Oleg Deripaska, a sanctioned Russian oligarch.  They both previously worked with Deripaska to attempt to have his sanctions removed, and, as public servants, they should have known better.  This Office will continue to prosecute those who violate U.S. sanctions enacted in response to Russian belligerence in Ukraine in order to line their own pockets.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael J. Driscoll said: “The FBI is committed to the enforcement of economic sanctions designed to protect the United States and our allies, especially against hostile activities of a foreign government and its actors.  Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska perform global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion, and violence.  As alleged, Mr. McGonigal and Mr. Shestakov, both U.S. citizens, acted on behalf of Deripaska and fraudulently used a U.S. entity to obscure their activity in violation of U.S. sanctions.  After sanctions are imposed, they must be enforced equally against all U.S. citizens in order to be successful.  There are no exceptions for anyone, including a former FBI official like Mr. McGonigal.  Supporting a designated threat to the United States and our allies is a crime the FBI will continue to pursue aggressively.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

In 2014, the President issued Executive Order 13660, which declared a national emergency with respect to the situation in Ukraine.  To address this national emergency, the President blocked all property of individuals determined by the U.S. Treasury to be responsible for or complicit in actions or policies that threatened the security, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine, or who materially assist, sponsor, or provide support to individuals or entities engaging in such activities.  Executive Order 13660 and regulations issued pursuant to it prohibit making or receiving any funds, goods, or services by, to, from, or for the benefit of any person designated by the U.S. Treasury.

On April 6, 2018, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) designated Oleg Deripaska as a Specially Designated National (“SDN”) in connection with its finding that the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation with respect to Ukraine constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy (the “OFAC Sanctions”).  According to the U.S. Treasury, Deripaska was sanctioned for having acted or purported to act on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a senior official of the Government of the Russian Federation and for operating in the energy sector of the Russian Federation economy.   

CHARLES MCGONIGAL is a former Special Agent in Charge (“SAC”) of FBI’s Counterintelligence Division in New York, who retired in 2018.  While working at the FBI, MCGONIGAL supervised and participated in investigations of Russian oligarchs, including Deripaska.  SERGEY SHESTAKOV is a former Soviet and Russian diplomat who later became a U.S. citizen and a Russian interpreter for courts and government offices.

In 2021, MCGONIGAL and SHESTAKOV conspired to provide services to Deripaska, in violation of U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska in 2018.  Specifically, following their negotiations with an agent of Deripaska, MCGONIGAL and SHESTAKOV agreed to and did investigate a rival Russian oligarch in return for concealed payments from Deripaska.  As part of their negotiations with Deripaska’s agent, MCGONIGAL, SHESTAKOV, and the agent attempted to conceal Deripaska’s involvement by, among other means, not directly naming Deripaska in electronic communications, using shell companies as counterparties in the contract that outlined the services to be performed, using a forged signature on that contract, and using the same shell companies to send and receive payments from Deripaska.

MCGONIGAL and SHESTAKOV were aware that their actions violated U.S. sanctions because, among other reasons, while serving as SAC, MCGONIGAL received then-classified information that Deripaska would be added to a list of oligarchs considered for sanctions as part of the process that led to the imposition of sanctions against Deripaska.  In addition, in 2019, MCGONIGAL and SHESTAKOV worked on behalf of Deripaska in an unsuccessful effort to have the sanctions against Deripaska lifted.  In November 2021, when FBI agents questioned SHESTAKOV about the nature of his and MCGONIGAL’s relationship with Deripaska’s agent, SHESTAKOV made false statements in a recorded interview.
*                *                *
CHARLES MCGONIGAL, 54, of New York, New York, and SERGEY SHESTAKOV, 69, of Morris, Connecticut, are charged with one count of conspiring to violate and evade U.S. sanctions, in violation of the IEEPA, one count of violating the IEEPA, one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, and one count of money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  SHESTAKOV is also charged with one count of making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. 

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the FBI New York Field Office’s Counterintelligence Division and the valuable assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection as well as the New York City Police Department.   

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hagan Scotten, Rebecca T. Dell, and Derek Wikstrom are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
 [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Attachment(s): 
Download U.S._v._McGonigal_and_Shestakov_Indictment.pdf https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1563476/download
Topic(s): 
Public Corruption
Component(s): 
USAO – New York, Southern
Contact: 
Nicholas Biase
(212) 637-2600
Press Release Number: 
23-019
Updated January 23, 2023” https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1563476/download https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-special-agent-charge-new-york-fbi-counterintelligence-division-charged-violating

The indictment involving McGonigal taking money from a retired Albanian intelligence official, now a US citizen, appears complicated. The Albanian retired decades earlier, which implies the period of 1987-1997. This period includes the communist period. It’s also the period when McGonigal started working for the FBI. The person who gave him the money is “Person A was a naturalized United States citizen who was born in Albania and who resided in New Jersey. Person A had been an employee of an Albanian intelligence agency several decades earlier.” Also mentioned in the indictment: “Company A was a Delaware business organization registered by Person A in January 2018. Person B was an Albanian national who was employed by a Chinese energy conglomerate. Person B operated as an informal advisor to the Prime Minister of Albania, retaining an official Albanian government email account and passport, and was a former Albanian senior government official. Person A and Person B were friends and business associates with each other. Person C was a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina and an advisor to a Bosnian Member of the Presidency. Person C was a former Bosnian defense minister. Person D was a national of Bosnia and Herzegovina and was the founder and General Manager of a pharmaceutical company based in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1563516/download Defense minister when? Bosnia or former Yugoslavia?

“Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 23, 2023
Retired FBI Executive Charged With Concealing $225,000 In Cash Received From An Outside Source
Charles F. McGonigal Arrested in New York
WASHINGTON – Charles F. McGonigal, 54, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field office, has been arrested on charges relating to his receipt of $225,000 in cash from an individual who had business interests in Europe and who had been an employee of a foreign intelligence service, while McGonigal was serving as Special Agent in Charge of FBI counterintelligence efforts in the New York Office. McGonigal retired from the FBI in September of 2018.
           
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves, Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office Donald Alway, and Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office David Sundberg.
           
According to the nine-count indictment, unsealed today, from August 2017, and continuing through and beyond his retirement from the FBI in September 2018, McGonigal concealed from the FBI the nature of his relationship with a former foreign security officer and businessperson who had ongoing business interests in foreign countries and before foreign governments.  Specifically, McGonigal requested and received at least $225,000 in cash from the individual and traveled abroad with the individual and met with foreign nationals. 

The individual later served as an FBI source in a criminal investigation involving foreign political lobbying over which McGonigal had official supervisory responsibility.  McGonigal is accused of engaging in other conduct in his official capacity as an FBI Special Agent in Charge that he believed would benefit the businessperson financially.  
           
McGonigal’s initial appearance in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has not yet been scheduled.

“Covering up your contacts with foreign nationals and hiding your personal financial relationships is a gateway to corruption,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “The FBI should be commended for handling the delicate and difficult task of investigating a former executive.

This investigation demonstrates their commitment to act as an impartial enforcer of the law.  The FBI and the Department will guard the best interests of the United States and hold to account those who make false statements and try to deceive the Bureau.”

“Mr. McGonigal betrayed his solemn oath to the United States in exchange for personal gain and at the expense of our national security,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Alway. “A senior FBI executive at the time, McGonigal is alleged to have committed the very violations he swore to investigate while he purported to lead a workforce of FBI employees who spend their careers protecting secrets and holding foreign adversaries accountable.  Agents in my office, with the support of agents in Washington, D.C. and New York, vigorously pursued a former colleague without bias.”
           
“As an FBI agent, Charles McGonigal took an oath to support and defend the Constitution,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Sundberg. “In betrayal of that oath, McGonigal is alleged to have received money from a businessman with foreign business interests, to have concealed these payments, and to have lied about related foreign contacts and travel. Integrity is one of the FBI’s core values and we hold our own to the highest standards.”
           
The charge of falsification of records and documents carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The charge of making false statements carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison for each count. The charges also carry potential financial penalties. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
 
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Washington Field Offices.
           
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth Aloi and Michael Friedman of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance from Acting Deputy Chief Evan Turgeon of the DOJ’s National Security Division Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 Attachment(s): 
Download mcgonigal_indictment_-_file_stamped.pdf https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/press-release/file/1563516/download
Topic(s): 
National Security
Component(s): 
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
USAO – District “
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/retired-fbi-executive-charged-concealing-225000-cash-received-outside-source

“Charles McGonigal Named Special Agent in Charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office October 4, 2016
FBI Director James B. Comey has named Charles McGonigal as the special agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division for the New York Field Office. Mr. McGonigal most recently served as the section chief of the Cyber-Counterintelligence Coordination Section at FBI Headquarters.

Mr. McGonigal entered on duty with the FBI in 1996. He was first assigned to the New York Field Office, where he worked Russian foreign counterintelligence and organized crime matters. During his tenure in New York, Mr. McGonigal worked on the TWA Flight 800 investigation, was assigned to the task force investigating Wen Ho Lee, investigated the 1998 terrorist bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, and investigated the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Mr. McGonigal was assigned to an investigative response squad, which focused on pending international terrorist threats in the New York City area.

Mr. McGonigal was assigned to the Cleveland Division where he investigated white-collar and violent crime matters. In 2002, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to a supervisory special agent in the Counter-Espionage Section at FBI Headquarters, where he handled several high-profile espionage investigations. In April 2004, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to chief of the Asia-Near East Counterintelligence Unit.

In 2006, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to field supervisor of a counter-espionage squad at the Washington Field Office. In this capacity, Mr. McGonigal was in charge of many high-profile espionage, economic espionage and media leak investigations resulting in criminal prosecution.

In 2014, Mr. McGonigal was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Baltimore Field Office’s cyber, counterintelligence, counterespionage, and counterproliferation programs. Mr. McGonigal earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1990 and completed a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Mr. McGonigal will assume this new role at the end of October.“ https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/press-releases/charles-mcgonigal-named-special-agent-in-charge-of-the-counterintelligence-division-for-the-new-york-field-office

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/retired-top-fbi-counterintelligence-agent-led-trump-russia-probe-arrested-own-ties-russian-oligarch

“But he is also accused of taking $225,000 (£182,000) in cash while still working as a special agent from someone who had worked for a foreign intelligence service. From August 2017 until his retirement in September 2018, McGonigal allegedly concealed from the bureau his relationship with the ex-Albanian intelligence officer. He allegedly received cash from the person for his own financial benefit – hiding the payment from the FBI – and travelled abroad with them, but the indictment does not characterise the payment to McGonigal as a bribe.” https://news.sky.com/story/charles-mcgonigal-ex-fbi-official-who-oversaw-oligarch-investigations-charged-over-helping-sanctioned-russian-billionaire-12793802

“Trump Blasts Charles McGonigal After Arrest: ‘Rot In Hell” BY EWAN PALMER ON 1/24/23 AT 5:03 AM EST “In a separate indictment, McGonigal is also charged with accepting $225,000 while working at the FBI from a person who had business interests in Europe who had been an employee of Albania’s foreign intelligence service…” https://www.newsweek.com/trump-charles-mcgonigal-russia-arrest-sanctions-1775988

“The department has escalated its scrutiny of Deripaska associates. In September, federal prosecutors charged a British national, Graham Bonham-Carter, who worked as Deripaska’s property manager, and indicted five Russian nationals for sanctions evasion. Federal prosecutors charged Deripaska in a superseding indictment. A US-based employee, Olga Shikri, was charged with sanctions evasion and destroying evidence. In October, Bonham-Carter was arrested in the UK while two of the five Russian nationals were arrested in Europe. Regarding the charges related to the $225,000 cash payment, Donald Alway, assistant director in charge of the FBI Los Angeles field office, said: “Mr McGonigal betrayed his solemn oath to the United States in exchange for personal gain and at the expense of our national security.”https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/23/fbi-charles-mcgonigal-oleg-deripaska-russia-putin

https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2023/01/23/russian-oligarch-tied-to-kentucky-braidy-industries/69833182007/

“Ex-CIA Officer Compares Charles McGonigal to Russian Double Agent Story” by Anna Skinner Yesterday 3:01 PM https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/ex-cia-officer-compares-charles-mcgonigal-to-russian-double-agent/ar-AA16F30N