Ex-FBI official sentenced for assisting "Putin's henchman"

• McGonigal was also ordered to pay a fine of $40,000, to forfeit $17,500, and sentenced to three years of supervised release, per a Department of Justice statement..

Zoom out: Deripaska was among dozens of people in Russian President Vladimir Putin's orbit who were sanctioned in 2018 for meddling in the U.S. elections. Prosecutors de

• Deripaska, whom prosecutors in McGonigal's case described as Putin's "henchman" was charged last year with violating those sanctions.

Zoom in: As an FBI official, McGonigal helped Deripaska investigate one of his rival Russian oligarchs in exchange for concealed payments, per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York.

• McGonigal attempted to hide Deripaska's involvement by not directly naming him, and by using shell companies and a forged signature to send and receive payments, prosecutors said.

• McGonigal's lawyers argued he shouldn't receive prison time because he's accepted responsibility and lost his job, per Reuters.
• They said McGonigal believed what he was doing was "consistent" with U.S. foreign policy by aiding in potentially sanctioning Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin.

What they're saying: U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement Thursday that McGonigal "violated the trust his country placed in him by using his high-level position at the FBI to prepare for his future in business."

Go deeper: U.S. sanctions, charges Russians over years-long hacking campaign