NEW YORK, New York — The U.S. Treasury Department issued a $7.1 million fine Thursday against Gracetown Inc., a New York property management company accused of violating federal sanctions by overseeing luxury real estate connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the firm processed 24 payments totaling more than $31,000 between 2018 and 2020 for a Deripaska-owned company despite previous warnings that all dealings with the sanctioned billionaire were prohibited.
Deripaska, a metals magnate with long-standing ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018, when Treasury alleged he acted on behalf of a senior Russian official and participated in Russia’s energy sector. Those sanctions froze all U.S.-based property he controlled and barred American companies from working with him. OFAC said Gracetown continued managing his properties even after receiving explicit guidance that such activities were unlawful.
Federal court filings have linked Gracetown to Graham Bonham-Carter, the U.K. businessman arrested in 2022 for allegedly helping Deripaska evade sanctions. Prosecutors said Bonham-Carter assisted with funding property maintenance and attempted to move Deripaska’s artwork into the United States in violation of federal restrictions.
Deripaska has repeatedly challenged allegations against him, including a failed 2017 defamation suit against The Associated Press. He was later criminally charged in 2022 with conspiring to violate sanctions and attempting to secure U.S. citizenship for his unborn child. Treasury officials said Thursday the enforcement action further demonstrates the consequences for firms that ignore sanctions compliance rules.
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