DOJ Charges Russian Billionaire Deripaska With Violating Sanctions—And Scheming For His Child To Be Born In U.S.

The new date is Sep 29, 2022.

The Justice Department accused the Russian billionaire and three associates of violating U.S. sanctions by trying to get the mother of his child to give birth in the US so he could be an American citizen.

A $3 million sale of a California music studio, a flower purchase for a Canadian Parliament member, and Easter gifts for an American were some of the transactions that prosecutors say Natalia Bardakova and the U.S. citizen were involved in.

According to prosecutors, Bardakova and Shriki helped the pregnant woman obtain a 10-day tourism visa to the U.S., only to stay in the country for six months and have a baby in 2020.

According to prosecutors, authorities stopped another attempt by the group earlier this year for Voronina to have a baby in the U.S.

If he is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Nicholas Biase, a Justice Department spokesman, told Forbes that the man is at large.

The woman who was arrested Thursday is accused of facilitating $300,000 of payments related to the birthing scheme and also faces charges for allegedly destroying electronic records.

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Four years after Russia's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the businessman, citing his close ties to the Russian government and his alleged links to organized crime. The war between Russia and Ukraine was a mistake, according to one of the few Russian tycoons who criticized the conflict. Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that his outspokenness did not gain any sympathy. Since the beginning of the Ukraine invasion, Russian tycoons have been charged in the U.S.

Thanks to his stakes in Russian commodity and energy companies and his expansive real estate portfolio, we think he's worth more than $2 billion. His holdings include a five-story home in New York's Upper East Side that was purchased for $42.50 million in 2008.

The Russian billionaire doubled down on the war criticism.

Russian businessman vs. Russian billionaire The U.S. government looks at a lawsuit.