FBI arrests CIA official with $40 million in gold bars in his home

WASHINGTON — A senior CIA official was arrested last week after investigators found hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million stashed in his Virginia residence, a small fortune that he apparently brought home from work, according to court papers.

The official, David Rush, is being held in jail while he awaits a detention hearing in the coming days on charges of stealing public money by filling out fraudulent time sheets. The charging documents filed in Alexandria, Va., still leave a lot unanswered about his recent conduct.

The only charge lodged against Rush is that he inflated his academic credentials and obtained military leave pay worth tens of thousands of dollars. The authorities say he falsely claimed to be a member of the Navy Reserve when he was discharged.

The court papers describe Rush as a “former senior executive service-level employee at a United States government agency.” People familiar with the investigation say he until very recently held a senior position at the CIA.

In a joint statement, the CIA and FBI said the arrest occurred May 19, after the agency alerted the bureau.

“After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” the statement said.

A lawyer for Rush declined to comment. A woman answering the phone at Rush’s house hung up on a reporter.

From last November to March, the court papers say, Rush asked for, and received, “a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses.”

When the CIA conducted a review of where the gold and currency were stashed, the agency was “unable to locate the gold bars or significant amounts of the foreign currency,” according to court papers.

On May 18, FBI agents searched Rush’s home and found “approximately 303 gold bars, each of which weighed approximately one kilogram,” according to an affidavit. Based on the price of gold, the affidavit said, the estimated value of the gold exceeded $40 million. Investigators also seized nearly three dozen luxury watches, many of them Rolexes.

The court papers do not indicate why Rush appears to have kept so much gold, and $2 million in U.S. currency, in his home, or what work project would have required him to amass such wealth.