Indictments Unsealed Against Virginia Residents for Violating U.S. Sanctions
Note: View the indictments for District of Columbia cases #24-cr-403 and #24-cr-404.
The Department of Justice has unsealed two indictments charging Dimitri Simes, 76, and Anastasia Simes, 55, both from Huntly, Virginia, and Russia, in connection with separate schemes to breach U.S. sanctions.
First Indictment
According to the first indictment, Dimitri and Anastasia Simes were involved in a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions, benefiting the sanctioned Russian broadcaster Channel One Russia and laundering funds from this 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 acting on behalf of, the Government of the Russian Federation.
From June 2022 to the present, the Simes duo allegedly violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by providing services to Channel One Russia, such as presenting and producing programming, and receiving over $1 million, a personal car and driver, a stipend for an apartment in Moscow, and a team of 10 employees. The indictment also alleges their involvement in money laundering to conceal the proceeds from these IEEPA violations.
Dimitri and Anastasia Simes, who maintain a home in Huntly, Virginia, are believed to be in Russia. They face charges of conspiracy to violate the IEEPA, violating the IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Second Indictment
The second indictment alleges that Anastasia Simes was involved in another scheme to violate U.S. sanctions for the benefit of sanctioned oligarch Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Udodov. Udodov was sanctioned by OFAC on February 23, 2023, for his activities in the management consulting sector of the Russian Federation economy. From February 2023 to the present, Anastasia Simes allegedly purchased art and antiques for Udodov from U.S. and European galleries and auction houses, storing the items at her Virginia residence for shipment to Russia. In return, she was reimbursed and received a service fee. The indictment also claims she engaged in money laundering to conceal the proceeds from these IEEPA violations.
In this scheme, Anastasia Simes is charged with conspiracy to violate the IEEPA, violating the IEEPA, and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.
The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating both cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Hughes for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Menno Goedman and Sean O’Dowd of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
The investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures imposed by the U.S. and its allies in response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, this task force leverages all department tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine U.S. government actions against Russian military aggression.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
