By Peter McLaren-Kennedy • Published: 11 Oct 2022 • 23:38
Oleg Deripaska - Image ID1974 / Shutterstock.com
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said Graham Bonham-Carter was arrested on Tuesday. October 11 after being accused of funding properties purchased by Oleg Deripaska and expatriating his artwork.
Bonham-Carter denies the allegations of helping Deripaska, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government 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.”
The cousin of film star Helena Bonham Carter, he is accused of engaging in more than $1 million (€1,02 million) of illicit transactions to fund real estate properties in the US for Deripaska’s benefit.
Accused of setting up a company for Deripaska named GBCM Limited, which was used to manage his properties including two in New York City and one in Washington DC.
Bonham-Carter faces three charges, one of conspiring to violate and evade US sanctions, one count of violating IEEPA and one count of wire fraud. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Deripaska, a close associate of Vladimir Putin and his government, was one of seven oligarchs hit with sanctions by the UK on March 10. Just four days after the sanctions were imposed, four protesters broke into one of his properties in Belgravia Square in London before declaring it “belongs to Ukrainian refugees.”
Bonham-Carter’s bank accounts were frozen by a Westminster magistrates’ court in March after it was alleged they contained money linked to the founder of the Rusal aluminium company. Deripaska is reported to be worth more than £2 billion (€2.02 billion).
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don't already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.