From the website of the Office of Public Affairs within the Department of Justice:
The Department of Justice today unsealed two indictments charging Dimitri Simes, 76, and Anastasia Simes, 55, both of Huntly, Virginia, and Russia with two separate schemes to violate U.S. sanctions.
As alleged in the first indictment, Dimitri and Anastasia Simes participated in a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions for the benefit of sanctioned Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia and to launder funds obtained from that scheme. Channel One Russia, a state-owned Russian television station, was sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on May 8, 2022, for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, the Government of the Russian Federation.
From at least in or around June 2022 through the present, Dimitri Simes, Anastasia Simes and others allegedly participated in a scheme to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), by providing services to Channel One Russia, including by serving as a presenter and producer of programming, and by receiving over $1 million, a personal car and driver, a stipend for an apartment in Moscow, Russia, and a team of 10 employees from Channel One Russia following its designation by OFAC. The indictment alleges that Dimitri and Anastasia Simes also engaged in a scheme to commit money laundering, knowing the transactions were intended to conceal the proceeds of IEEPA violations.
www.justice.gov/…
Apparently, Simes and his wife are at large and assumed to be in Russia.
The FBI raided his Virginia home a couple of weeks ago and siezed several boxes worth of documents.
The Simes indictments come right on the heels of the DOJ’s announcement that Russia has been paying millions of dollars to right-wing U.S. pundits to publish Russian propaganda right here in America.
It looks like the Feds are closing in on the entire Russian attempt to screw with our elections in 2024.
According to Al-Jazeera, today, A.G. Merrick Garland announced a fresh round of sanctions on various Russian individuals and entities:
The United States has announced a range of actions to combat Russian influence in the November 2024 presidential election, as the Biden administration tries to prevent outsiders from swaying votes.
Two employees of Russian state media, Russia Today (RT), were indicted, dozens of internet domains were seized for “malign influence campaigns” and a new visa restriction policy was introduced as part of the efforts to check foreign influence.
www.aljazeera.com/…
Sorry, Poot-Poot, but we aren’t going to let you eff us twice. Buh-bye!
