On Wednesday, the Justice Department issued the first known criminal prosecution against a Russian oligarch in connection with the Kremlin’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev is accused of conspiring to violate and breaking US sanctions in an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York. Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Crimea, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Malofeyev, 47, in December 2014.
The invasion of Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula, by Russia caused international outrage and led to sanctions against Russia. A battle broke out in eastern Ukraine shortly after the takeover between government forces and separatists backed by Russia.
In February, Russia began a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, committing crimes that prompted the US and its partners to impose fresh sanctions.
Malofeyev, according to the FBI, “had a key role in backing Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014” and “recently portrayed Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a holy war.”
Malofeyev is still on the loose, but US authorities suspect he is in Russia.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco noted during a press conference at the Justice Department that “These are the first criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice against a Russian oligarch since Russia invaded Ukraine.”
Malofeyev is accused of “flagrantly and persistently violating the sanctions imposed on him while attempting to create media companies across Europe,” according to Monaco, who said that the media organizations will assist propagate pro-Kremlin propaganda.
“Mr. Malofeyev also broke US sanctions in 2015 by transferring shares he had in a Texas bank to a business associate,” she added, adding that the multimillion-dollar investment was seized by US officials.
Each of the indictment’s two sanctions charges carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
A request for comment from the Russian embassy in Washington was not immediately returned.
The Justice Department charged an American citizen with violating US sanctions and making false statements about his ties to Malofeyev earlier this month.
According to the indictment, Malofeyev hired Jack Hanick to work for a Russian cable television news network in 2013. According to the Justice Department, Hanick was thereafter dispatched on behalf of Malofeyev to Greece and Bulgaria to assist with media ventures.
Hanick, who most recently lived in London, faces a charge of sanctions, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, as well as a charge of making false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
