How Russian public fund Pravfond continued to subsidize its allies in Europe despite sanctions
In October 2024, border guards stopped a 65-year-old travel agent trying to carry €10,000 in cash into Estonia from Russia. Tatjana Sokolova was supposed to deliver the money to Andrei Andronov, a Russian national on trial in Estonia. Accused there of collaborating with Russian intelligence, he needed to pay his legal fees.
It remains unclear why this travel agency head was helping Andronov, but authorities quickly discovered that the money was not hers. She had gone to collect the cash on the other side of the border after receiving the funds in a Russian bank account, sent from Pravfond, the Fund for Support and Protection of the Rights of Russian Compatriots Living Abroad – an organization created and funded by the Russian government. In April 2025, Sokolova, who did not respond to our requests for comment, was convicted in Estonia of violating sanctions against Moscow.
Pravfond's stated aim is to defend the interests of Russians living abroad, mostly by providing legal aid. But, the foundation has also financed pro-Russian propaganda in various European countries, especially the former Soviet states in the Baltics, and helped advance the Kremlin's foreign policy interests. The "Dear Compatriots" Project, conducted in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and involving some 20 media outlets, also revealed that Pravfond paid the legal fees of alleged spies.
Sanctioned since 2023
The European Union sanctioned Pravfond and its executive director, Aleksandr Oudaltsev, in June 2023, making it theoretically much harder to move money into Europe. But tens of thousands of internal Pravfond emails obtained by Danish public broadcaster DR – shared with the OCCRP consortium and 28 partner media outlets, including Le Monde – show how the foundation has been able to continue its work across Europe with relative ease.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
3 hours ago
- Euronews
French Senate backs law to regulate ultra fast fashion
The French Senate overwhelmingly backed a new bill designed to regulate low-cost clothing giants on Tuesday, mainly targeting Chinese e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu. The text aims to tackle the environmental and economic consequences of fast fashion, a model that thrives on mass production and low prices. The legislation introduces an eco-score system that will evaluate the environmental impact of products sold by fast fashion companies, including emissions, resource use, and recyclability. Brands with the lowest scores could be taxed up to €5 per item starting in 2025, increasing to €10 by 2030. However, the tax cannot exceed 50% of the item's retail price. It also includes a ban on advertising for ultra-fast fashion brands and sanctions for influencers who promote them online. While the bill takes aim at ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu, it notably spares major European players such as Zara, H&M, and Kiabi from the harshest penalties. Environmental groups have criticised the revised bill for what they see as a weakened ambition. 'It's a missed opportunity,' said Pierre Condamine, campaign manager at Friends of the Earth France. 'We've got a text that's going to target two brands and therefore leave out what represents at least 90% of production and clothing sold in France. So it's a missed opportunity. We could have a real environmental ambition. We are very disappointed because, in the end, we can see that it's economic protection that has become the major driving force behind this bill. In contrast, at its beginning, there was an ambition to move the sector towards more sustainable practices," he told Euronews. But some French lawmakers argue the bill needs to protect European industries first. 'Unfortunately, we have no choice,' said conservative Senator Sylvie Valente Le Hir. 'Today, we still have to defend what's left of our European industries. We have to make a distinction between the production that's done in China by these giants. We're talking about scales that are 100 times larger than us. So we're preserving European and French industries for the time being, because if we don't, there will be nothing left," she told Euronews. Shein spokesperson Quentin Ruffat responded to the bill earlier this week, warning that the text could "impact the purchasing power" of French consumers. Between 2010 and 2023, the value of advertised fast fashion products in France rose from €2.3 billion to €3.2 billion. In France, 35 clothing items are discarded every second, according to the country's environment agency Ademe. The Senate passed the bill with 337 votes in favour and only one against. The text will now move to a joint committee of senators and deputies in September. The European Commission will also need to be notified to ensure the bill complies with EU regulations. If passed, it would mark one of the most aggressive legislative efforts in Europe to address the toll of fast fashion, though its ultimate impact remains to be seen. Several hundred people attended a mass after a former student opened fire at a school in Austria's second-biggest city – Graz – on Tuesday, killing 10 people and injuring many others before taking his own life, according to authorities. There was no immediate information on the motive of the 21-year-old man, who had no previous police records. Two weapons were used to execute the attack, which the attacker is believed to have owned legally, police said. Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker as well as Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger attended the mass at Graz Cathedral. "It shocked me a lot like everybody else," said local resident Elisabeth Schuster. Thinking of the victims and their loved ones, Schuster came to the mass to show her solidarity. "I'm with them, feel for them. And I hope that together we can find a way, so that something like this never happens again," she added. Special forces were among those sent as part of the first response team to the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school, about a kilometre from Graz's historic centre, after calls at 10 am local time reporting shots at the building. More than 300 police officers were also deployed to the scene, who helped evacuate students from the school. Footage from the scene showed students filing out quickly past armed officers. Police said security was restored in 17 minutes. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the gunman had been a student at the school and hadn't completed his studies. People also gathered for a candle lit vigil in Graz's main square to mourn the victims of the fatal attack. Footage showed dozens of the city's residents in attendance for the event to mark what has become one of the most violent attacks in the city's recent memory.
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Fresh Russian strikes kill two in Kharkiv, Ukraine says
Fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine 's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two people and wounded 54 including children early Wednesday, authorities said, as Moscow pushed ahead with its relentless attacks after rejecting an unconditional ceasefire. "Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs (drones) were carried out in two districts of the city tonight," Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram, later adding that 37 people were wounded and "several people were rescued from houses engulfed in flames". The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said eight children were wounded in the attack. Russia has escalated its bombardments of Ukraine despite US President Donald Trump urging Moscow to end its three-year invasion, with Kyiv launching retaliatory attacks deep inside Russian territory. After a previous overnight barrage of more than 300 drones and seven missiles on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Kyiv's Western allies to respond with "concrete action". "Action from America, which has the power to force Russia into peace. Action from Europe, which has no alternative but to be strong," Zelensky wrote on social media. Peace talks in Turkey last week failed to yield a breakthrough towards ending the conflict, with Russia rejecting calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanding Ukraine give up its territory and bid to join NATO. But the two sides agreed to swap more than 1,000 prisoners of war and hand over the bodies of dead soldiers, swapping groups of captured soldiers on Monday and Tuesday. Prisoner exchanges Kharkhiv, which lies less than 50 kilometres (31 miles) from the Russian border, has been hit by a surge in large-scale nighttime attacks over the past week. Wednesday's strikes left a five-story building on fire in Slobidskyi district, while several houses were hit in Osnovyansky district, Mayor Terekhov said. He said "there may be people trapped under the rubble". The attack came after Russia pummelled the city on Saturday in what Terekhov called "the most powerful attack" on Kharkiv since the start of the war. Four people were killed and more than 50 wounded as homes and apartment blocks were hit overnight and guided bombs were dropped on the city on Saturday afternoon. 06:31 Ukraine is also stepping up its drone attacks on Russia, targeting military production and bases. On Tuesday, one person was killed and four others wounded in a drone attack that destroyed a convenience store in the Russian region of Belgorod, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Nevertheless, the two sides carried out a second prisoner of war swap on Tuesday. The deal should see the freeing of all captured soldiers under the age of 25, as well as those who are sick or severely wounded, though neither side has specified the number of soldiers involved. But Zelensky has said it is "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree to a ceasefire. As a condition for halting its invasion, Russia has demanded that Ukraine cede the territories Moscow says it has annexed and forswear joining NATO. It has also rejected a proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire sought by Kyiv and the European Union, arguing that this would allow Ukrainian forces to rearm with Western deliveries. Ukraine is demanding a complete Russian withdrawal of from its territory and security guarantees from the West.
LeMonde
5 hours ago
- LeMonde
In Ukraine, the high stakes of documenting the war
From the bodies strewn in the streets of Bucha to civilian victims of Russian shelling, from buildings struck by missiles to the environmental consequences of the conflict, few aspects of the war have escaped Ukrainians' determination to record, document and archive everything. There are now hundreds of such initiatives. And they are not limited to the current armed conflict with Russia: Countless projects are revisiting Ukraine's history, culture and arts, as well as its cuisine, wildlife and flora. Ukrainians are not the first to be deeply committed to documenting their own war in real time. Over the past 15 years, driven by historical awareness, a thirst for information and hopes for justice – and thanks to new means of communication and technology – activists from the Arab Spring, Iranian protesters, besieged Syrians and now Gazans cut off from the world have pioneered the daily documentation of conflict. But Ukraine is undoubtedly reaching a new level never seen before in terms of scale.
