UK businessman charged with conspiring to violate sanctions on Russian oligarch

(Adds background, effort to reach lawyer) NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter was arrested on U.S. charges of conspiring to violate sanctions placed on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

(Adds background, effort to reach lawyer) NEW YORK, Oct 11 (Reuters) -

British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter was arrested on U.S. charges of conspiring to violate sanctions placed on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Bonham-Carter was arrested in the United Kingdom, and federal prosecutors in Manhattan will be seeking his extradition. He was also charged with wire fraud for funding U.S. properties purchased by Deripaska and efforts to expatriate Deripaska's artwork in the United States.

A lawyer for Bonham-Carter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The charges come as the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to pressure Russian oligarchs through sanctions, asset seizures and criminal probes to stop backing Russian President Vladimir Putin after the country's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow calls its activities in Ukraine a "special military operation."

"Bonham-Carter obscured the origin of funding for upkeep and management of Deripaska's lavish U.S. assets, in violation of the international sanctions," Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a statement.

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