Russian TV presenter Dimitri Simes, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and his wife, Anastasia, have been charged with violating U.S. sanctions in connection with alleged schemes to benefit Russian broadcaster Channel One.
The couple is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of conspiracy, and one count of money laundering.
If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count, the Justice Department said on September 5.
Following an FBI raid on the Simes’ Virginia home on August 16, the Justice Department alleges that the couple participated in the violation of U.S. sanctions by providing services to Channel One, a state-owned Russian broadcaster that was sanctioned by the United States in 2022.
The department said Simes was a presenter and producer of programming for Channel One and for his services received $1 million, a personal car and driver, a stipend for an apartment in Moscow, and a team of 10 employees from the broadcaster.
Simes, 76, as an adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign, arranged an important 2016 foreign policy speech in which Trump outlined a vision for greater cooperation with Russia. According to a 2019 report by special counsel Robert Mueller, who was assigned to look into whether Trump's campaign had colluded with Russia, Simes also sent Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner a letter detailing potential talking points for Trump about Russia.
The Justice Department also announced on September 5 a second indictment, naming only Anastasia Simes, alleging she participated in a separate scheme to benefit Russian oligarch Aleksandr Udodov through the buying, selling, and shipping of art from the United States to Russia. The department accused Anastasia Simes of receiving reimbursements and a service fee from Udodov, who was designated for sanctions in 2023 by the United States.
The Justice Department said the couple remains at large and are believed to be in Russia.
Simes, born in Moscow in 1947, emigrated to the United States in 1973 and later became a U.S. citizen. He served as an informal adviser to President Richard Nixon and regularly traveled with Nixon to the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries.
In 1994, Nixon named him to head the Center for the National Interest, which at the time was called the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom. Simes retired from the position in 2022.