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British businessman charged over helping Russian oligarch evade US sanctions

Prosecutors said on Tuesday (Oct 11), British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter was arrested on US charges of conspiring to violate sanctions placed on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Bonham-Carter was arrested in the United Kingdom, and federal prosecutors in Manhattan said they will seek his extradition, Reuters reported, the Arab news said.
Prosecutors said Bonham-Carter made payments for US properties owned by Deripaska and tried to move the aluminum magnate’s artwork in the United States overseas.
A lawyer for Bonham-Carter, who is also charged with wire fraud, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Britain’s National Crime Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges come as the US Department of Justice tries to pressure Russian oligarchs through sanctions, asset seizures and criminal probes to stop backing Russian President Vladimir Putin after the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow calls its activities in Ukraine a “special military operation.”

“Bonham-Carter obscured the origin of funding for upkeep and management of Deripaska’s lavish US assets, in violation of the international sanctions,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a statement.
Deripaska, the billionaire 54-year-old founder of aluminum giant Rusal, was among two dozen Russian oligarchs and government officials blacklisted by Washington in 2018 in connection with Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US election.
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The Justice Department last month charged Deripaska with violating sanctions by using the US financial system to maintain three luxury properties, employing a woman to buy a California music studio on his behalf, and by trying to have his girlfriend travel to the United States to bear his children.
Prosecutors said Bonham-Carter has worked for entities controlled by Deripaska since around 2003, and managed his residential properties in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Prosecutors said that in 2021, Bonham-Carter wired just over $1 million from a Russian bank account for a company he controlled on Deripaska’s behalf to a New York bank account for Gracetown, Inc., which manages Deripaska’s residential properties in the United States.
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Prosecutors said, the payments were meant to pay for the maintenance of Deripaska’s two residential properties in New York and one in Washington, D.C., which he purchased between 2005 and 2008.
Prosecutors said that Bonham-Carter also sought in 2021 to transfer artwork Deripaska bought from an auction house in New York City to London, and falsely told the auction house that the art did not belong to Deripaska.
Source: arabnews
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BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
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