Federal prosecutors have indicted Dimitri Simes, the former head of Washington’s Center for the National Interest from 1994 to 2022, and his wife Anastasia on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, and evasion of US sanctions imposed on Russia. Simes is currently based in Moscow and has been hosting a political TV show called ‘The Great Game’ on Channel One since stepping down from his previous role.
According to the indictment unsealed on Thursday, Simes and Anastasia have allegedly violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and engaged in money laundering of the profits they made. If convicted, both individuals face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the three counts against them.
Dimitri Simes is accused of receiving “over $1 million, a personal car and driver, a stipend for an apartment in Moscow, Russia, and a team of 10 employees,” as payment for his work as a producer and presenter at Channel One. The network was sanctioned by the US in May 2022 for being “owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of” the Russian government.
At the time of the indictment, Simes and his wife maintained a home in Huntly, Virginia. They are currently believed to be in Russia and remain at large. A raid was conducted by federal agents at their Virginia property two weeks ago, reportedly seizing some artwork. Another indictment unsealed on Thursday charged Anastasia Simes with conspiring to violate US sanctions by allegedly buying art for a man named Aleksandr Udodov, described as an “oligarch.
Udodov was blacklisted in February 2023 for “operating or having operated in the management consulting sector” of the Russian economy. Speaking to Sputnik last month, Dimitri Simes dismissed the raid on his Virginia property as “an attempt to intimidate” him and others who might criticize the policies of the US government and the “deep state” in Washington. He also noted that he and his wife had not been in the US since October 2022 and expressed concerns about being unable to return due to the charges against them.
The charges against Simes and his wife come just a day after the US government accused Russian outlets RT and several others of attempting “to undermine confidence in the United States’ election processes and institutions” ahead of the November 5 presidential election. As a result, US sanctions have forced former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter to end his contracts with RT and Sputnik, as the FBI raided his New York home last month.