The FBI searched the Washington home of a Russian oligarch linked to Vladimir Putin

Oleg Deripaska, who was sanctioned in 2018 by Washington, is a tycoon linked to the Russian energy sector

The FBI on Tuesday searched the home in Washington DC of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin , US media reported.

The television network NBC News was the first to report the search, after speaking with an FBI spokesman, who did not specify the reasons.

Deripaska is an energy sector magnate related to Putin and one of the Russian figures sanctioned in April 2018 by the US Treasury Department , who accused him of bribery and threatening competing businessmen, among others.

The Treasury said at the time that the oligarch had “bribed a government official, ordered the murder of a businessman and had links to a Russian organized crime group . “

Deripaska also has financial ties to Paul Manafort, the former head of former President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign who was convicted of fraud as a result of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the so-called Russian plot.

FBI agents carry items while an agent watches during the raid on the home of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in Washington

Manafort was one of the people from Trump’s environment who were charged in the framework of those investigations for his consulting work in Ukraine .

During the process against the former campaign manager, court documents came to light, which detailed that Manafort received a loan of 10 million dollars from Deripaska in 2005 .

The mogul sued the United States government over the sanctions imposed on him in 2018, but a federal judge dismissed the case last June.

According to NBC , the US authorities have been repeatedly denying him a visa from the country in recent years because of his alleged ties to organized crime .

However, the Russian government recently granted him diplomatic status , which allowed him to enter the United States and have diplomatic immunity , the network said, citing officials and former officials from the country.

In 2019, the Donald Trump administration lifted sanctions on the Russian aluminum giant Rusal and its subsidiary En + , two controlled companies Deripaska .

At the time, the Treasury Department explained that both companies reduced Deripaska’s stake and agreed to welcome independent personalities from the United States and the European Union to their board of directors. Under the agreement, the tycoon will reduce his shares in those companies below 50% , and his voting rights will be around 35%.