Former FBI agent to plead guilty in Russian oligarch-related case

(NEW YORK) — One of the highest-ranking FBI officials ever criminally charged is expected to plead guilty next week in Manhattan federal court, according to a new court filing.

Charles McGonigal, the former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York field office, is scheduled for a “plea proceeding” Aug. 5, according to a judge’s order.

“The Court has been informed that Defendant Charles McGonigal may wish to enter a change of plea,” the order said.

McGonigal was charged over his ties to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who has been sanctioned by the United States and criminally charged last year with violating those sanctions.

McGonigal, who retired from the FBI in 2018, is charged with violating U.S. sanctions by trying to get Deripaska off the sanctions list. He was also accused of investigating a rival Russian oligarch in return for concealed payments from Deripaska.

McGonigal has also been charged in a separate case in Washington, D.C., with concealing $225,000 he allegedly received from a former Albanian intelligence employee. His attorney said during a hearing last week he expects that case to also be resolved without going to trial.

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