A US court has sentenced former Russian diplomat Sergei Shestakov to two months in prison for giving false testimony to the FBI.

Source: Radio Free Europe, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Shestakov, a former Russian diplomat, was tried in connection with the case involving senior FBI official Charles McGonigal and sanctioned Kremlin-linked oligarch Oleg Deripaska for providing false statements to the agency.

Prosecutors argued that 71-year-old Shestakov, who became a US citizen in 2013 and worked as a certified federal court interpreter, was fully aware that making false statements to federal agents constituted a criminal offence.

US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff sentenced Shestakov to two months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and imposed a fine of US$100. He is expected to begin serving his sentence in February 2026. The ruling was more lenient than the sentence sought by prosecutors.

At the centre of the case were Shestakov's communications with another former Russian diplomat, Yevgeny Fokin, a long-time acquaintance who held a senior position in Deripaska's holding company En+.

Court documents revealed that Fokin came under FBI surveillance in July 2019. During a 2021 trip to the United States, his electronic devices were seized and searched, and his visa was later revoked following the FBI's recommendation due to his alleged ties to Russia's foreign intelligence service.

Shestakov was found to have introduced McGonigal to Fokin. Later, in November 2021, during questioning by the FBI, Shestakov downplayed the extent of his acquaintance with Fokin and his awareness of their interactions.

He was subsequently required to register as a foreign agent and disclose his collaboration with Fokin and En+.

In January 2023, Shestakov was arrested at his home in Connecticut and charged with five counts, most of which were later dropped. He ultimately pleaded guilty to the charge of making false statements.

McGonigal himself was sentenced in December 2023 to more than four years in prison and a substantial fine over his ties to Deripaska.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon !