How an Oligarch May Have Recruited the F.B.I. Agent Who Investigated Him

There is no indication in the Manhattan indictment that Mr. McGonigal was working for Mr. Deripaska while still employed by the F.B.I. The implications of the allegations against Mr. McGonigal are alarming, Mr. Fried said. agent who had been captured in Iran, for which Mr. Deripaska spent as much as $25 million of his own money. When Mr. Deripaska signed with the firm, it brought on Mr. McGonigal as a consultant and investigator. In the spring of 2021, Agent-1 began negotiating with Mr. McGonigal to work directly for Mr. Deripaska, without the law firm.