Russian spy is charged with fraud and money laundering for purchasing two Beverly Hills condos - worth more than $4M - in violation of sanctions

  • Andrii Derkach was slapped with a handful of new charges Wednesday due to his alleged purchase of two Beverly Hills condos
  • Derkach, 55, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician is a longtime agent of the Kremlin, according to the Justice Department
  • He was previously sanctioned for attempting to undermine the 2020 election by funneling faulty information about Joe Biden to the Trump campaign
  • The Justice Department alleges that Derkach spent years attempting to build a cushy life for himself in the US while undermining its democratic process 

Ukrainian politician and Russian spy Andrii Derkach was slapped with new charges Wednesday due to his alleged purchase of two condos in Beverly Hills in violation of sanctions. 

Derkach, 55, who the US government said had ties to the Kremlin, is a member of Ukraine's parliament who the US also labeled a Russian agent and allegedly someone who sought to influence the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Fresh charges were announced against Derkach by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn and the Justice Department's KleptoCapture task force.

He is also alleged to have funneled false information about then-candidate Joe Biden to Trump campaign attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Derkach has been charged in a seven-count indictment with a number of financial crimes, including conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and four counts of money laundering.

Giuliani is pictured with Andrii Derkach - the pro-Russian Ukrainian member of parliament who was slapped with fresh charges on Wednesday

Giuliani is pictured with Andrii Derkach - the pro-Russian Ukrainian member of parliament who was slapped with fresh charges on Wednesday

Alleged Russian spy and Ukrainian member of parliament Andrii Derkach was slapped with a new round of charges Wednesday relating to two condos he purchased years ago in Beverly Hills. He was sanctioned in 2020 for meddling with the US presidential election

Alleged Russian spy and Ukrainian member of parliament Andrii Derkach was slapped with a new round of charges Wednesday relating to two condos he purchased years ago in Beverly Hills. He was sanctioned in 2020 for meddling with the US presidential election 

The Ukrainian is now in trouble for allegedly buying two swanky California properties in direct violation of sanctions that were imposed earlier this year. He also allegedly hid his interest in the sales of the homes.

US Attorney Breon Peace, in a statement detailing the new slate of charges, called Derkach a 'Kremlin asset,' who 'was sanctioned for trying to poison our democracy.'

The attorney continued by saying that Derkach 'has shown he is ready, willing, and capable of exploiting banking system in order to advance his illicit goals. The U.S. will not be a safe haven where criminals, oligarchs or sanctioned entities can hide their ill-gotten gains or influence our elections.'

The DOJ alleges that Derkach simultaneously sought to undermine US democracy while also working to establish a cushy life in America, making his crimes doubly reprehensible.

'Attempting to enjoy the safety, security, and freedoms of an open society, while secretly working to undermine that very society, is a hypocrisy that runs through every sanctions charge announced by the Task Force,' said KleptoCapture Director Andrew Adams.

He added, 'It is a particularly egregious hypocrisy in the case of Andrii Derkach - sanctioned for attempts to undermine American democracy, while corruptly seeking to benefit from its protections.'

The Treasury Department previously alleged that Derkach ran two websites that promoted the distribution of false information about US officials.

Treasury sanctioned Derkach in 2020, calling him 'an active Russian agent for over a decade, maintaining close connections with the Russian Intelligence Services' who 'waged a covert influence campaign' to undermine the 2020 U.S. presidential election. 

A member of the pro-Russian Ukrainian political party, Derkach for the time being, remains at large.

His alleged scheme involved purchasing and maintaining two luxury condos in Beverly Hills nearly a decade ago while keeping his financial interest in the purchase a secret from US government institutions. According to the DOJ, Derkach wired a total of $3.92 million through a shell company to a US brokerage account in order to make the purchase.

If tried and convicted, he is facing up to 30 years behind bars. 

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