Trump-aligned Russian TV host charged in alleged sanctions scheme

A Russian American television host for a Russian media outlet is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions and profiting from illicit payments, authorities said Thursday, as the Justice Department presses to contain foreign influence on elections.

Dimitri Simes and his wife, Anastasia, are accused of illegally accepting more than $1 million in salary and other benefits from the state-owned Channel One Russia television station and trying to conceal the payments, according to a Justice Department indictment unsealed Thursday.

The couple, charged with money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions imposed on the station in 2022, face up to 20 years in prison for each of three counts, authorities said.

Dimitri Simes, 76, who founded the Center for the National Interest, a conservative Washington think tank, was an informal adviser to Donald Trump during the former president’s 2016 campaign.

The charges against the couple were made public a day after the Biden administration announced a series of coordinated actions against Russian individuals and government entities for allegedly attempting to manipulate U.S. public opinion and sow social divisions by disseminating pro-Russian propaganda through social media and other means.

Authorities described the legal maneuvers – including criminal charges against two Russian executives for RT, another state-owned news outlet – as part of a broader effort to counter Russian interference ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 between Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and Trump, the Republican nominee.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday dismissed the indictments as “nonsense.” He accused the United States of repressing journalists to quash what it did not like.

“This is not the first time that Russia has been blamed for interfering into America’s elections,” Peskov said in a message answering questions from the Washington Post. “Well of course it’s nonsense. We’re not interfering.”

In a separate indictment, Anastasia Simes, 55, was charged with illegally purchasing art and antiques on behalf of Russian oligarch Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Udodov in violation of U.S. sanctions against him. She faces three additional counts in that case, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Authorities said the couple, who own a home in Huntly, Virginia, are at large and believed to be in Russia. Dimitri Simes has not been in the United States since Oct. 25, 2022, based on his passport, according to the indictment.

Dimitri Simes offered advice on a campaign speech in 2016 in which Trump spoke of greater cooperation with Russia.

When special counsel Robert S. Mueller III conducted his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Simes and his think tank figured prominently, appearing more than 100 times in Mueller’s final report.

Simes had repeated communications with Russian officials and with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who became a White House aide, according to the report, though Simes was cleared of any wrongdoing.

The federal indictment said Simes began hosting a program on Channel One Russia called “The Great Game” in 2018 and continued despite knowing that the channel had been sanctioned in 2022 after the Russian military invaded Ukraine.

Under his initial contract, Simes was paid $67,814 a month, along with other perks that included hotel accommodations in Moscow, plane tickets, a staff of 10 employees and help promoting his “positive image” in the public, according to the indictment.

In all, Channel One Russia has paid Simes $3.59 million, including more than $1 million that came after the channel was sanctioned, authorities said.

Simes took the money despite “knowing that it was unlawful to do so,” according to the indictment. Simes and his wife used payments from Channel One Russia to purchase property in the United States, authorities said.

Following an FBI raid on his estate in Virginia in August, Simes told the Russian government-owned Sputnik news that the raid “clearly is an attempt to intimidate, not only somebody from Russia but just anyone who goes against official policies and particularly against the deep state.”

He said he had not been notified by the federal authorities about the raid. Simes and his wife could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday claimed to be supporting Harris in the U.S. presidential race, despite the revelations from one of the indictments and a related set of charges that linked Russia’s efforts to supporting the Republican Party in the election.

“We had Biden as a favorite, but he was dropped from the race. He recommended that all his supporters should back Harris, so we will, too,” Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East.

Also Thursday, federal prosecutors unveiled charges against five members of the Russian military and a civilian accused of orchestrating a cyberattack on critical Ukrainian computer systems a month before Russia invaded the country in 2022.

The attack, known as “WhisperGate,” targeted dozens of computers maintained by Ukraine’s government as part of a conspiracy that U.S. officials have said was intended to sow distrust among Ukrainians.

According to a superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, hackers accessed and later sold the personal data of Ukrainian citizens. They also targeted protected computer systems associated with 26 NATO countries, including a U.S. government agency located in Maryland.

The attack launched on Jan. 13, 2022, prosecutors alleged, when the six accused men worked together to hack the computers of dozens of Ukrainian government entities, including those that deal with “critical infrastructure,” agriculture, education, science and emergency services.

Hackers also “probed” U.S. government websites 63 times, according to court documents, but prosecutors did not say which agency was targeted or whether that move as successful.

“The Department of Justice stands united with partners and allies supporting the Ukrainian people in the wake of the Russian invasion of their country,” Matt Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security, said at a news conference in Baltimore.

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Mettler reported from Baltimore. Catherine Belton in London contributed to this report.