Feeding the evil: dancing on the bones of freedom fighters
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| Photo. Austrian Foreign Minister (2017-2019) Karin Kneissl waltzes with Putin during her wedding in 2018. |
Let's make an imaginary tour of Europe to find out who and how being paid by putin. This material is the third article in the series devoted to the Kremlin's allies abroad topic. Previous articles can be found by following links:
Next stop after Scandinavia is Germany, the first economy in Europe and an important geopolitical player that sets the tone for the European foreign policy. In recent decades, Germany's policy towards the Russian Federation has been soft and open. Preferences, opening the market for Russian energy corporations, investments in the economy of the Russian Federation and turning a blind eye to its unfriendly actions which would not be forgiven for other countries. It is all about Germal policy towards Russia.
Why would this happen you may ask?
Hubert Seipel is a German journalist, who portrayed himself as an objective and independent researcher of geopolitical events, has been spreading Kremlin narratives on TV shows and through his books for years. A recent journalistic investigation Cyprus Confidential shows that Hubert Seipel turned out to be an ordinary Moscow propagandist who takes salary from the Kremlin through the Cypriot shell company [4]. There are enough of such "objective and independent" journalists in other Western countries. They are putin's informational weapon which he uses to influence public opinion.
Do you want to know how Cyprus, a European Union country, fell to its knees before the Kremlin's money opening a backdoor for illicit capital into European financial system? Read the elaborate article from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project [5].
The influence of Russian money in Germany is not limited to journalistic circles. The country's foreign intelligence service (BND) is supposed to protect it from the external threats but for now it sells the allies’ secrets. According to media reports in 2023, a high-ranking German intelligence officer was charged with treason for transferring classified information about Ukraine to Russian special services for 450,000 euros [6]. The question arises: how is Europe going to defend itself, having Kremlin’s agents in its intelligence services?
For sure, the Kremlin could not ignore the Germany’s political landscape. Here, he has his own party - Alternative for Germany (AfD). It has extremely close relations with the Kremlin: many of their politicians received gifts, free luxury trips to the Russian Federation, and funding from their masters [7]. Therefore, it is not surprising that AfD politicians oppose aid to Ukraine, sanctions against the Russian Federation and advocate for rapprochement with it.
putin has his agents among the centrist parties as well. Meet Manuela Schwesig, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who got into a scandal for receiving 20 million euros from Gazprom [8]. Created by her The Climate and Environment Protection Fund did not deal with environmental issues but with the construction and promotion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The wallets of European citizens well remember how putin used gas and this pipeline in the non-distant past. So whose interests are Manuela Schwesig promoting? Interestingly, Schwesig lobbied for Nord Stream 2 together with putin's confidant in Germany, Warnig (a former Stasi agent).
Unfortunately, the examples from Germany are not an exception but part of the existential threat from Russian money on the politics and existence of European countries.
Let's visit the Vatican as the next stop in the tour. The Pope, an admirer of the genocidal imperial actions of the Russian Federation, got himself into scandals numerous times after the Russian invasion to Ukraine. One day he is delighted with the imperial culture that has been destroying Ukrainian for centuries. Another he howls about the escalation in the war after Ukraine strikes military targets on the Russian territory. Or he offers Ukraine to throw away the white flag in order to return peace to Europe. Why does the Pope follow Russian rhetoric? The explanation is quite banal.
There is an organization in Vatican structure - Institute for the Works of Religion or simply the Vatican bank. This opaque organization is an offshore bank that has special arrangements with European financial institutions taking advantage of the specific nature of the Vatican state. Considering the past of this bank and the Vatican as a whole which includes receiving money from Benito Mussolini, capitalising on the killing of Jews during the Holocaust, funneling $900 million of New York mafia money, laundering money for the Italian mafia and Italy's elite (see bank Ambrosiano case) and others [9], it remains a matter of time when the investigative journalists confirm the fact of money laundering for the Kremlin mafia.
In general, all "doves of peace" who constantly demand actions from Ukraine but none from Russia, are connected with the Kremlin's money. For instance, here is Switzerland whose political leadership is for peace and neutrality. According to the modest estimates, $200 billion related to Russia is in the country and only 7 of them were frozen after the beginning of the war. In June 2022, the country's government considered a proposal to create a task force that would actively search for Russian money in the country, and... did not see the need for it [10]. At the same time, Switzerland ranks first in Europe in the transfer of components for Russian weapons and simultaneously blocks the transfer of arms to Ukraine by third countries. This is paid hypocrisy and not neutrality.
On June 6, the leaders of the Western countries gathered in Normandy for the anniversary of the Allies landing in 1944. There were many declarations about the memory of the past mistakes and the deterrence of the enemies of the free world in the present times. These statements bring only a sad smile. How are you going to defeat the enemies of civilized world if you can't stop taking their money?
Take as an example Oleksandr Zakharov, the developer of the Lancet loitering drone which is used by the russian invading force in Ukraine. His family, meaning him, owns elite real estate in the center of London [11]. Do you think this property was frozen after the start of the war? No. Moreover, his family is not subject to sanctions and is enjoying life in Europe. How did it happen that putin's killers own property in Great Britain and other European countries? The scheme is very simple, let's take a look at it.
The Kremlin’s money through the shell companies first enter Europe, let's say through the banks of Cyprus. Now, the Kremlin wants to give them to the agents. How to do it? The agents would create a chain of offshore companies to hide the owner's identity. One of these companies is created in a European country, say Great Britain. To finish the process of laundering money, the Kremlin mob needs to transfer them from Cyprus to the company's account in Great Britain in a way that would look “legal”. But who is going to do that?! Relax, this is Europe. There is a queue of banks and law firms ready to grab ill-gotten russian money for a fee [12]. Some of them have already been mentioned in this article.
At the end, the Kremlin’s money is in Great Britain, legalized and ready to be used. It can be invested in a local politician, journalist or lobbyist who will promote the interests of the Kremlin in Europe.
Alright. A reader may ask: this is all bad of course but why should I be interested in this topic? Why is it important for me? The problem is Russian money, through agents of influence, destroys the institutions on which the stability of Europe is based. This has already led to the degradation of democracy in Europe and further inaction will only worsen the situation.
The most tragic thing is that we ourselves opened the door for the criminals and let them into our home. Our indifference has led to the situation when evil feels at home in Europe.
In 2018, the Spanish court began considering the case of massive money laundering by the Russian mafia in the country [13]. It took TEN years for prosecutors to get with the case into the court possessing convincing evidence. Law enforcement operation "Troika" highlighted the connections of Russian MPs and high-ranking officials close to Putin with the mafia and money laundering. Have any of them been punished by a court? No. None. Is this the rule of law in Europe? Scum is roaming streets of Europe untouched. Lack of justice is the end of freedom.
Russian agents pumped by Kremlin’s money influence key decisions in Europe here and now. The time has come for active actions and the citizens of Europe can change the negative trend of the democracy degradation. We need to work in the following directions:
- interest from general public to the investigations of the journalists and anti-corruption organizations; there should be an understanding among population how Russian money are getting to Europe;
- adoption of the legislation at the EU level which would make impossible for money to enter Europe through various types of the shell companies; there is a large resistance (who would think right?) towards this;
- creation of the European investigative body that would be engaged in bringing to justice all Kermlin’s agents of influence, regardless of their positions; everyone should see that collaboration with dictators is punishable;
Many in the West want to end the Russian war against Ukraine at the cost of Ukrainian territories. They lounge for the status quo, the symbiosis with the bloody Kremlin, when you can talk on the cameras about the values of the free world and at the same time count money from its enemies in your wallet.
There will be no more status quo. Evil is no longer interested in living next to us, it wants to live instead of us. The question arises: will we be able to find the strength to resist it or will we continue to be its butlers?
[1] Scandinavian banks at the heart of money laundering scheme
https://www.politico.eu/article/the-north-relaunders/
https://www.bscapitalmarkets.com/the-nordic-laundromat-the-scandinavian-banks-involved-in-baltic-money-laundering.html
[2] Large corporations on the Kremlin’s side
https://www.ukrainian-spirit-gbg.se/2023/06/business-with-devil-or-who-in-west.html
[3] Political allies of the Kremlin
https://www.ukrainian-spirit-gbg.se/2023/09/you-cannot-negotiate-peace-with-someone.html
[4] German journalist takes salary from the Kremlin
https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/german-journalist-putin-documentary-cyprus-secret-payments/
[5] How Cyprus rose to become the beating heart of the Putin regime’s shadow financial system
https://www.icij.org/investigations/cyprus-confidential/cyprus-model-politics-tax-haven-russian-wealth/
[6] German intelligence service officer sells secrets to Moscow
https://apnews.com/article/germany-russia-intelligence-bnd-fsb-treason-charges-08a46501ed9aa8070dc9b08c9e913e5b
[7] German parties under the influence of russian money
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd13114xwkqo
https://twitter.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1774084529201856903
[8] German politician received money from Gazprom for the completion of the gas pipeline
https://www.dw.com/en/nord-stream-putins-pipeline-into-german-politics/a-64901745
[9] Vatican and criminal money
https://www.businessinsider.com/gods-bankers-financial-scandals-at-the-vatican-2015-2
https://www.amazon.com/Gods-Bankers-History-Money-Vatican/dp/1416576576?tag=bisafetynet2-20
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-23289297
[10] Switzerland’s neutrality with the taste of russian money
https://twitter.com/PStyle0ne1/status/1681919676211777536
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/banking-fintech/switzerland-says-sorry-oligarchs-paradise/47820090
[11] Family of putin's killer is enjoying Europe
https://svidomi.in.ua/en/page/family-of-lancet-drone-developer-aleksandr-zakharov-owns-property-in-the-uk
[12] Great Britain: scheme of laundering russian money
https://twitter.com/Beefeater_Fella/status/1755306088826630347
https://twitter.com/ByDonkeys/status/1499766468610863106
[13] Russian mafia money in Spain
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43112443
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/5195-spain-issues-arrest-warrants-for-organized-crime-linked-top-russian-officials
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