The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Sept. 5 that it has charged a presenter for a Russian state media outlet and his wife with violating U.S. sanctions.
Dimitri Simes, 76, and his wife, Anastasia Simes, 55, are charged with conspiracy to violate sanctions, as well as violating sanctions, in addition to conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
The couple have dual Russian-American citizenship. They own property in Huntly, Virginia.
For nearly three decades, Simes was best known for his role as the president and CEO of the Center for National Interest, a foreign policy think tank that has previously advocated for improving relations between the U.S. and Russia. He stepped down in 2022.
Simes was also an adviser for the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. The couple allegedly violated sanctions jointly and individually, according to the DOJ, which issued two separate indictments: one against the couple and another against Anastasia Simes.
In the first scheme, starting around June of 2022, the couple allegedly violated sanctions on Russia by giving and receiving support from Channel One Russia, according to the indictment. The couple and others conspired to transfer funds from Rosbank, a Russian bank, to the United States by using Armenia as an intermediary.
Dimitri Simes hosted and produced a TV program on the channel called “The Great Game” even after the network was sanctioned by the United States in May 2022 for what the Treasury Department said was generating revenue for Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
In return, Simes received over $1 million in compensation, along with a personal car and driver, a stipend for a Moscow apartment, and a team of 10 employees from Channel One Russia, according to a Justice Department release.
In the second scheme, as alleged in the indictment solely against Anastasia Simes, she and others—starting in or around February 2023—allegedly violated sanctions by giving services and funds to, and receiving money from, Aleksander Yevgenyevich Udodov. The Russian entrepreneur was sanctioned by the United States in February 2023.
Despite the sanctions against Udodov, Anastasia Simes gave him artwork and antiques in a money laundering scheme. In exchange, he gave her reimbursements and a service fee, according to the indictment.
The Simes couple is at large and believed to be in Russia, according to the DOJ. If convicted, they face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
“As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including Sergei Kiriyenko, directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a Justice Department release.
Additionally, the DOJ announced it indicted two employees of RT, a Russian state media outlet formerly known as Russia Today, for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act and committing conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva allegedly “deployed nearly $10 million, laundered through a network of foreign shell entities, to covertly fund and direct” an unnamed Tennessee-based online content creation company, according to the indictment. The foreign shell entities were based in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and and Mauritius.
The Epoch Times reached out to Dimitri Simes for comment.
