Graham Bonham-Carter comes from a long line of big names.
The British businessman is a descendant of John Bonham-Carter, a member of the British Parliament and a barrister in the 19th Century; the artist Hillary Bonham-Carter, whose portraits of her cousin Florence Nightingale are held in the National Portrait Gallery; and Arthur Thomas Bonham-Carter, a judge in His Majesty's High Court of East Africa.
Bonham-Carter, 62, is also the second cousin of actress Helena Bonham Carter, and right now he's in a bit of trouble.
He has been charged violating U.S. sanctions imposted on Russian oligarch Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska, the U.S. Justice Department said on Oct. 11.
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'Putin's Favorite Industrialist'
Bonham-Carter allegedly made over $1 million in payments on Deripaska's properties in the U.S. and attempted to move the oligarch's artwork "from an auction house in New York City to London through misrepresentations concealing Deripaska’s ownership of the artwork."
He was arrested in the U.K. and federal authorities are looking to extradite him to the U.S.
Deripaska, who has been called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "favorite industrialist", had been previously charged with violating U.S. sanctions last month.
In March, Bonham-Carter had his bank accounts frozen for six months after the UK's National Crime Agency charged his accounts contained money linked to Deripaska, according to the BBC.
In April 2018, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control tagged Deripaska as a Specially Designated National, over Russia's annexation of Crimea and he was one of seven oligarchs sanctioned by the British government over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Bonham-Carter worked for entities controlled by Deripaska since July 2003, managing his residential properties U.K. and Europe, including a house in Belgravia Square, London.
He continued working for the oligarch even after the Treasury Department's action, officials said, and referred to Deripaska as his “boss.”
'My Boss Oleg...'
“Times a bit tough for my boss as sanctions have hit him from the USA so not an ideal time," Bonham-Carter said in a June 2018 email.
In an email last year, Bonham-Carter wrote "It[’]s all good apart from banks keep shutting me down because of my affiliation to my boss Oleg Deripaska.... "
"I have even been advised not to go to the USA where Oleg still has personal sanctions as the authorities will undoubtedly pull me to one side and the questioning could be hours or even days!!” the email said.
Prior to being sanctioned Deripaska purchased three residential properties in the United States, two in New York City and one in Washington, D.C.
After the sanctioning, officials said, he told Bonham-Carter to set-up a new company to handle the properties.
In May 2018, Bonham-Carter wrote in an email that “OVD [i.e., Deripaska] wants me to set up my own company to run the [Belgravia Square] house and to possibly include Japan, Italy, China and more.”
Less than two months later, Bonham-Carter incorporated GBCM Limited.
Bonham-Carter was charged with conspiring to evade US sanctions; violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; and wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
The investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement team that was launched in March with the aim of cracking down on Russian oligarchs following the invasion of Ukraine.
And who is Oleg Deripaska?
Deripaska made his fortune on previously state-owned assets that privatized following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
'Businessman of the Year'
He is considered a victor in Russia's so-called "aluminum wars" during the 1990s, which were frequently violent conflicts between businesspeople to obtain these assets.
Deripaska was named businessman of the year in 1999, 2006, and 2007 by Vedomosti, a Russian business daily.
Once Russia's richest man, he lost a substantial amount of his fortune in the 2008 financial crisis. In June, Forbes pegged his wealth at $3.2 billion.
Deripaska was involved in a bid to buy Daimler Chrysler Group in 2006, when the U.S. cancelled his entry visa for unknown reasons. The Wall Street Journal reported the cancellation may have been sparked by accusations that he was linked to organized crime in Russia.
Deripaska has repeatedly denied a connection to any organized crime.
The New York Times later reported that the visa had been yanked over concerns Deripaska might try to launder money through real estate transactions.
Former Republican Senator and 1996 presidential candidate Robert Dole, who died last year, and his law firm, Alston & Bird, did work for Deripaska for "Department of State visa policies and procedures." The lobbying campaign was ultimately successful.
Seizing Assets
In 2017, the Associated Press published a story alleging that Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former presidential campaign manager, negotiated a $10 million annual contract with Deripaska to promote Russian interests in Europe and the United States.
Both men denied the report and Deripaska filed a libel and defamation suit against the Associated Press in 2017. The lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that Deripaska had not disputed "any material facts" in the story.
Manafort was convicted in 2019 on tax fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. Trump pardoned him in 2020.
Several Western countries have joined forces to seize or block the assets of Russian oligarchs since the Ukraine invasion. As of June, more than $30 billion worth of assets have been taken or blocked.
Officials have confiscated luxury yachts, jets, mansions and other assets belonging to Putin's allies, as well as freezing about $300 billion in Russian Central Bank reserves.
