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- The FBI raided two homes connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska – one in DC, the other in New York.
- A Deripaska spokesperson told NBC News that it was "related to US sanctions."
- The nature of the investigation is unclear; the FBI could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched the property of Russian billionaire and oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Washington, DC, Tuesday, NBC News first reported.
The cause of the investigation is currently unknown to the public, but the Putin ally has not entered the US in years, according to The Washington Post.
Another home in New York City, also connected to Deripaska, was also searched on Tuesday, according to The Post.
According to a Deripaska spokesperson, the homes belong to his relatives, NBC News reported. "The searches are being carried out on the basis of two court orders, connected to US sanctions," the spokesperson told NBC News. "The houses do not belong to Mr. Deripaska."
A spokesperson for the FBI did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The FBI declined to elaborate on the nature of the search to NBC News.
Deripaska, who is a known ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, was one of several Russian oligarchs and officials that were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2018, according to The Post.
"Deripaska has been investigated for money laundering, and has been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering," an April 2018 press release about the sanctions from the US Treasury Department reads. "There are also allegations that Deripaska bribed a government official, ordered the murder of a businessman, and had links to a Russian organized crime group.
Deripaska was a friend of Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman for former President Trump who was indicted in 2018 for "fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, false statements, and failure to register as a foreign agent," Insider previously reported.