(FixThisNation.com) – On Friday, retired FBI agent Charles McGonigal pleaded guilty to having concealed more than $225,000 in foreign payments during his time at the FBI’s counterintelligence operations in Europe.
McGonigal had been in charge of the New York counterintelligence division when he had accepted money from an Albanian businessman and former official. The man then became a witness during one of the foreign lobbying cases. The funds were accepted between late 2017 and late 2018 when he retired. The statement by the prosecutors further noted that McGonigal and the individual had traveled abroad together and had met with foreign nationals.
Sentencing is going to take place in February. The maximum sentence for this charge is five years and the case is being handled by the Washington, and Los Angeles FBI offices.
Last month, McGonigal also pleaded guilty to having violated the sanctions against Russia. This is because he had reportedly accepted bribes from a Russian oligarch. The Department of Justice has noted that the former FBI official had accepted more than $17,000 in bribes from Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch. In exchange, McGonigal led an investigation into one of the business rivals of the oligarch.
For this case, McGonigal is being charged separately and is facing another charge with a maximum sentence of five years. The first sentencing which is for the case of the Russian oligarch will be sentenced in December.
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