According to the publication, Russia secretly channeled at least 300 million dollars – Countries where such activities were detected include Albania, Montenegro and Madagascar
An article by the Washington Post analyzes Russian involvement in election campaigns of various countries around the world.
More specifically, the journalist’s article Missy Ryan claims that Russia, in 2014, leaked secrets at least 300 million dollars to foreign political parties and candidates, in more than twenty countries around the world in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders, according to a recent US intelligence report.
According to the Washington Post, Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars, most of it as part of its covert campaign to weaken democratic systems and promote global political forces seen as aligned with Kremlin interests, according to the report which the Biden Administration requested last summer.
Commenting on the intelligence report’s findings, a senior U.S. official who – like other officials – spoke to reporters on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, said the administration decided to declassify some of the report’s findings in an effort to address the possibility of Russia to influence political systems in countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere.
“By shedding light on Russia’s policy of secret funding and Russian efforts to undermine democratic processes, we are warning these foreign parties and candidates that if they secretly accept Russian funding, we can and will expose it,” the official said.
Countries where such activities were detected are Albaniathe Montenegrothe Madagascar and possibly the Equatoraccording to a government source familiar with the matter.
Officials cited an Asian country, which they declined to name, where they said the Russian ambassador gave millions of dollars in cash to a presidential candidate.
They also said Kremlin-linked forces have also used front companies, think tanks and other means to influence political events, sometimes to the benefit of far-right groups.
The senior official said the US government detected an uptick in Russia’s covert funding policy in 2014.
The report was not about Russian activities inside the US. Estimates from both U.S. intelligence agencies and a bipartisan Senate investigation have concluded that Russia under President Putin launched a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to help then-candidate Trump, the report said. .
His document Department of Statelast Monday to US embassies in more than 100 countries described the alleged Russian activities and suggested steps the US and its allies could take to address them, including sanctions, travel bans or the deportation of suspected Russian spies involved in secret funding political activities.
The document, which officials provided to reporters, said Russian funding policy was sometimes overseen by Russian government officials and lawmakers, and implemented by institutions including Russia’s Federal Security Service.
They are also named, Russian oligarchs who participated in “financial schemes”, including Yevgeny Prigozhin and Aleksandr Babakov.
Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s chef” after earning huge sums from Russian government catering contracts, was accused by US officials in 2018 of trying to interfere in the 2016 US election.
He was linked to the private mercenary company Wagner and is wanted by the FBI.
THE Babakov is a Russian MP who is allegedly involved in funding a far-right party in France.
Moscow has used cryptocurrencies, cash and gifts to shape political events in other countries, often using Russian Embassy accounts and resources to do so, the document said, according to the publication.
“In the coming months, Russia may increasingly rely on its covert toolbox of influence, including its covert financing policy, in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, in an effort to undermine the effectiveness of international sanctions and to maintain its influence in these areas, amid the ongoing war in Ukraine,” the document said.
US diplomats are informing their counterparts in other countries about these activities, it said. “We believe this is only the tip of the iceberg,” commented a senior official.
US officials are also asking partner nations to share their own information about Russian funding to help the US government gain a fuller picture of what Russia is doing.
While the report did not address Russian influence efforts in the U.S., the official acknowledged that the issue remains a significant challenge that requires continued work to safeguard the U.S. political system and elections.
“There is no doubt that we have this vulnerability,” the official said, according to the report.
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