A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Tuesday that the residence of Oleg Deripaska, a prominent businessman considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is being searched in Washington, DC.
He added that the activity was linked to a federal investigation outside New York, but did not disclose any additional information.
While an informed source confirmed to CNN that the investigation is still ongoing, without giving any other details.
Authorities sealed off the entrance to Deripaska's home and put up warning signs that only authorized people could enter, and several law enforcement vehicles were deployed on the street in the Calorma neighborhood of Washington.
The United States imposed sanctions on Deripaska in 2018, in response to Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
The Treasury Department said in a statement at the time that Deripaska was investigated on charges of money laundering, endangering the lives of business competitors, illegally wiretapping a prominent government official, and participating in racketeering.
The Russian businessman lost a lawsuit during the current year, in which he was requesting the lifting of sanctions against him.
According to a previous report by Al-Hurra website, Deripaska, who is considered a strong competitor in the steel industry, was one of the most affected by the 2018 sanctions, especially as he owns shares in eight of the 15 companies mentioned in the sanctions list, and suffered a loss of 1.3 billion dollars from his wealth of 6.7 billion According to 2018 figures.
In 2019, the Treasury Department lifted, according to a statement, the sanctions against two companies that Deripaska controlled, after reducing his control over them, and after each of them agreed to the presence of independent figures from the United States and the European Union on its board of directors.
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