(FiveNation.com)- Last Thursday, prosecutors in Manhattan charged a former Fox News and CNBC producer for violating Crimea-related sanctions in his work with Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.
Television producer John Hanick, a US citizen, was arrested in London last month and the United States is currently seeking his extradition. Prosecutors said Hanick was charged with violating US sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2014 invasion of the Crimean peninsula.
Konstantin Malofeyev, who owns the Christian Orthodox channel Tsargrad TV, was placed under US and EU sanctions in 2014 over allegations that he funded pro-Russian separatists fighting in Ukraine. Malofeyev has denied the allegations and Russia considers such sanctions illegal.
Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a statement last week that Malofeyev “is closely tied to Russian aggression in Ukraine.” Williams said the indictment against John Hanick is evidence that the SDNY is committed to enforcing laws “intended to hamstring those who would use their wealth to undermine fundamental democratic processes.”
The 71-year-old Hanick moved to Moscow in 2013 to work for Malofeyev’s Tsargrad TV and continued working for the oligarch even after the 2014 sanctions against him were imposed. Prosecutors allege that Malofeyev oversaw Hanick’s compensation, some of which Hanick then wired to a bank account in New York.
According to a press release from the Justice Department, Hanick directly reported to Maofeyev regarding the network’s operations and was also “listed on organizational charts directly below Malofeyev.”
Hanick worked at Tsargrad TV until 2017.
According to prosecutors, during a February 2021 interview with the FBI, Hanick made false statements about his work with Malofeyev.
John Hanick previously worked as a producer at CNBC from 1995 until 1996. He then worked for the Fox News Channel until 2011.
Hanick has been charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and for making false statements to the FBI. If found guilty of both charges, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
