Oleg Deripaska
(Picture: Reuters)The bank accounts of a British businessman have been frozen over claims he is helping a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin to evade US sanctions.
The suspected homes of billionaire oil magnate Oleg Deripaska have been raided by the FBI and he is accused in the US of ties to Russian organised crime, ordering the murder of a businessman, racketeering, extortion, threats, and wire-tapping.
On Friday, the National Crime Agency secured a court order freezing five bank accounts containing more than £100,000 belonging to British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter, after alleging the accounts are used to “mask” Deripaska’s business dealings.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram agreed to the temporary order, which will last until a full court battle over the assets later this year.
Andrew Chadwick, representing the NCA, told the court he has been investigating businesses and properties with suspected links to Deripaska, including homes worth more than £50 million in Belgravia and the Grade II listed Hamstone House in Surrey.
“My investigation to date in respect of Mr Bonham-Carter is that he is heavily linked with a well-known Russian oligarch, who is linked to various crimes and criminality and is indeed currently sanctioned in the United States of America”, he said.
“It is alleged the funds put into the accounts held by Mr Bonham-Carter are either for the use of, or from, criminal activity.”
The court was told £797,000 has been transferred between November 2020 and January 2022 through four accounts at NatWest and a Clydesdale bank account in Bonham-Carter’s name, which are all under NCA investigation.
In October last year, FBI agents raided luxury homes in New York and Washington allegedly tied to Deripaska, while sanctions were first imposed in the US in 2018.
The properties are owned through Gracetown inc, a corporate entity registered in Delaware, with Mr Bonham-Carter listed as chief executive.
Homes in Belgrave Square and Belgrave Mews are owned through a British Virgin Islands registered company, the court heard, while £18 million Hamstone House is registered to a company based in Cyprus.
“Mr Bonham-Carter has well-documented, strong links to Russian national Mr Deripaska who is subject to US sanctions”, said Mr Chadwick.
“It is suspected properties held in the name of Mr Bonham-Carter and companies he is linked to do in fact belong to Mr Deripaska.
“The reason for the structure is to mask the true owner and ultimate beneficiary, and evade sanctions.”
He said there are “suggestions of money laundering taking place”, but confirmed that Bonham-Carter – a cousin of actress Helena Bonham-Carter – has no criminal convictions and is not suspected of direct links to Russian organised crime.
Mr Chadwick pointed the court to a 2018 announcement from the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, making a string of allegations against Deripaska as sanctions were imposed.
Deripaska, who is close to Putin and has represented Russian abroad, is accused of “money laundering, threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, extortion and racketeering, bribery, ordering the murder of a businessman, and links to Russian organized crime”, said Mr Chadwick.
Despite his closeness to the Putin regime, Deripaska was one of a host of Russian business leaders to speak out against war in the last week, posing online: “Peace is very important! It is insane to prolong [peace] negotiations!”
Lewis MacDonald, for Mr Bonham-Carter, told the court the property manager has recently returned from holiday and had not had time to issue instructions to his lawyers for today’s hearing. But he said the freezing order will be opposed.
The judge imposed a temporary block on the bank accounts, saying: “I’m satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting monies held in the said accounts are recoverable property, in light of the unchallenged evidence given today by the officer.”
He said the temporary order would only last until the full hearing, on a date yet to be set.
