Law360 (March 3, 2022, 5:13 PM EST) -- An American television industry veteran based in London allegedly assisted a Russian media mogul in building pro-Russia networks in violation of U.S. sanctions, according to charges announced in Manhattan on Thursday against the onetime Fox News Channel director.

John Hanick faces extradition to the United States on charges of violating U.S. sanctions and lying to the FBI, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said, unsealing an indictment that followed by a day President Joe Biden's vow to crack down on Russian plutocrats in response to President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine.

Hanick, whose LinkedIn page says he worked for the Fox News Channel from 1996 until 2011, unlawfully assisted businessman Konstantin Malofeyev in the development of television networks in Russia, Bulgaria and Greece, the feds said. Malofeyev's network in Russia is known as Tsargrad TV.

Hanick's work from 2014 to 2017 violated then-President Barack Obama's sanctions order designating Malofeyev as a supporter of Russian separatists in Crimea and in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, according to the charges.

The charges against Hanick are the first stemming from Obama's 2014 sanctions order, the feds said.

"Hanick violated those sanctions by working directly for Malofeyev on multiple television projects over the course of several years," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

Hanick, who goes by Jack, is also charged with making false statements to the FBI when he allegedly said last year that Malofeyev was not connected to trips he took to Bulgaria in 2015 and 2016 to develop a pro-Russia network.

In a 2015 article titled "Can the United States Stop a War With Russia?" Hanick opined that "understanding the Russian side and taking their arguments seriously can help prevent serious consequences."

Hanick is free on bail in London. No time frame for his potential extradition to New York was available. He was first arrested Feb. 3.

Counsel for Hanick did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The charges were announced a day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced a crackdown, called Task Force KleptoCapture, designed to hamper Russia's economic effort to undermine Ukraine's government.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, according to the docket. 

Hanick is represented by Roger Burlingame and Jeffrey Brown of Dechert LLP.

The government is represented by Thane Rehn and Jessica Greenwood of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

The case is USA v. Hanick, case number 1:21-cr-00676, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

--Editing by Philip Shea.

Update: This story has been updated with additional case information and to clarify the defendant's role at Fox 

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