By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 25 – Oleg Deripaska and three others were indicted on September 28, 2022, for violating the US OFAC sanctions imposed on him April 6, 2018 with regard to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
On September 29, co-defendant Olga Shriki, charged with selling a music studio and other sanctions-busting for Deripaska, was arrested.
On November 15, 2022, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge P. Kevin Castel held an in-person arraignment. Inner City Press went and covered it, with only three other people in the courtroom gallery.
A year later in November 2023, with co-defendant Natalia Bardakova in Russia, she moved to dismiss on venue and other grounds.
On December 27, the US Attorney's Office opposed the motions, saying as a fugitive she is "disentitled" to move to dismiss, and distinguishing the 2d Circuit's decision in Bescond who, they say, was "never here" in the US, unlike Bardakova. 41-page filing on Patreon here
On July 25, 2024, Judge Castel denied Bardakova's motion to dismiss based on the doctrine of disentitlement: "
Bardakova’s fugitive status means that it is unlikely that any decision rendered against her will be enforced; the “gravamen of [her] petition is the posture of heads I win, tails you’ll never find me.” Gao v. Gonzales, 481 F.3d 173, 177 (2d Cir. 2007) (internal quotation omitted). She resides in Russia, has not submitted to the Court’s jurisdiction, and an adverse ruling would not affect her. Second, she has flouted the judicial process and exhibited disrespect for the laws of the United States. She allegedly entered the United States to assist Deripaska in evading lawfully imposed sanctions, did in fact assist Deripaska in doing so, lied to FBI Special Agents, and promptly returned to Russia once she became aware that her conduct attracted the attention of law enforcement."
The case is US v. Deripaska, et al., 22-cr-518 (Castel)
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