The Security Information Service (Bis) of Czech Republic revealed the existence of a network organized by Russia that sought to influence the European elections this year to choose theEuropean Parliament in various European countries, including Germany, France and Belgium. The Czech newspaper reports it Denik Nwhich citing counterintelligence reports that in Prague money was handed over to anti-establishment politicians in Germany and other funds were allocated to the management of a website, Voice of Europe, based in the center of the Czech capital. According to what the newspaper writes, the main actors of the influential pro-Russian network were two businessmen and politicians of Ukrainian origin with close ties to Russia: Viktor Medvedchuk and his collaborator Artyom Marchevskij.
(reuters)
“The action of the Bis revealed how Russia influences the territory of the states of the European Union and how it tries to influence the political processes in our countries,” the Czech counterintelligence declared on social media. The header Respect It also reports that the network also intended to bribe politicians from France, Poland, Belgium, Holland and Hungary. “They should have accepted money to finance their political campaigns and then publicly spoken out in favor of Russian aggression in Ukraine in their own countries. For example by stressing that European countries should not supply weapons to an attacked country because only the interruption of supplies would lead at the end of the war”, writes the weekly Respect on his site.
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In connection with the Bis revelations, the Czech government led by Pietr Fiala imposed sanctions on Medvedchuk and Marchevskij, as well as on the Voice of Europe company. Once a person is placed on the sanctions list, the Bureau of Financial Analysis freezes their assets. However, according to a source from the Czech Finance Ministry cited by Denik N, Voice of Europe will be able to continue to operate, even if “its accounts are frozen”.