Latest news with #EU-sanctioned
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
German legislator's concealed meeting with Putin confidants sparks security concerns
German legislators are demanding an explanation from a senior Social Democrat on the parliamentary committee that scrutinises the work of the intelligence services after he held undisclosed talks with close associates of Russia's president. Ralf Stegner, a member of the Bundestag's Parliamentary Control Committee, was among politicians from the SPD and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives who took part in the April meeting in Baku. Among those they met on April 13 in the Azerbaijan capital was former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Subkov, head of Gazprom's supervisory board, and Valery Fadeyev, EU-sanctioned chair of Russia's human rights council. On both sides, the participants were former members of the Petersburger Dialogue, a forum founded in 2001 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The forum was officially disbanded in 2021 after Russia's crackdown on several participating civil society organisations. Four German participants – Stegner, Ronald Pofalla – who once led former Chancellor Angela Merkel's office – and two former regional ministers – confirmed in a statement to Reuters that they had been at a 'private' event in Baku. 'Talking even in difficult times of growing tension is a fundamental principle of good foreign policy,' they wrote, adding that the 'confidential' meeting was not secret, and none of them had a public mandate to be there or had been paid for their presence. The meeting, first reported by ARD public television and newspaper Die Zeit, took place at a time when Russia's ties with the EU are in a deep freeze over its invasion of Ukraine. The timing raised questions over the apparent willingness of some politicians to seek rapprochement even as Moscow wages war on a German ally. In Stegner's case, critics also raised security concerns: Members of the parliamentary control committee have privileged, confidential access to the work of Germany's foreign and domestic security services, both of them heavily involved in gathering intelligence relating to Russia and the war. 'This is a quite impossible and irritating development that must immediately be cleared up,' Konstantin von Notz, the Green chair of the committee, told Der Spiegel. Roderich Kiesewetter, a conservative member of the committee, said Stegner should explain himself, while liberal European legislator Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said Stegner should not be nominated for a new term on the committee. 'People in such a key role have to be above all suspicion,' she told Funke newspapers. 'That is not the case for him.'
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
German legislator's concealed meeting with Putin confidants sparks security concerns
By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) - German legislators are demanding an explanation from a senior Social Democrat on the parliamentary committee that scrutinises the work of the intelligence services after he held undisclosed talks with close associates of Russia's president. Ralf Stegner, a member of the Bundestag's Parliamentary Control Committee, was among politicians from the SPD and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives who took part in the April meeting in Baku. Among those they met on April 13 in the Azerbaijan capital was former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Subkov, head of Gazprom's supervisory board, and Valery Fadeyev, EU-sanctioned chair of Russia's human rights council. On both sides, the participants were former members of the Petersburger Dialogue, a forum founded in 2001 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The forum was officially disbanded in 2021 after Russia's crackdown on several participating civil society organisations. Four German participants - Stegner, Ronald Pofalla - who once led former Chancellor Angela Merkel's office - and two former regional ministers - confirmed in a statement to Reuters that they had been at a "private" event in Baku. "Talking even in difficult times of growing tension is a fundamental principle of good foreign policy," they wrote, adding that the "confidential" meeting was not secret, and none of them had a public mandate to be there or had been paid for their presence. The meeting, first reported by ARD public television and newspaper Die Zeit, took place at a time when Russia's ties with the EU are in a deep freeze over its invasion of Ukraine. The timing raised questions over the apparent willingness of some politicians to seek rapprochement even as Moscow wages war on a German ally. In Stegner's case, critics also raised security concerns: Members of the parliamentary control committee have privileged, confidential access to the work of Germany's foreign and domestic security services, both of them heavily involved in gathering intelligence relating to Russia and the war. "This is a quite impossible and irritating development that must immediately be cleared up," Konstantin von Notz, the Green chair of the committee, told Der Spiegel. Roderich Kiesewetter, a conservative member of the committee, said Stegner should explain himself, while liberal European legislator Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said Stegner should not be nominated for a new term on the committee. "People in such a key role have to be above all suspicion," she told Funke newspapers. "That is not the case for him." (Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke, editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EU ambassadors agree to extend sanctions against Russia
A source familiar with the matter has told European Pravda that EU ambassadors agreed on Friday 13 March to extend a number of EU sanctions against Russia after reaching an agreement with Hungary. Source: European Pravda Details: The source said the decision was made in writing. As a result, the sanctions will be extended for six months, until 15 September 2025. Which countries are involved is not known for certain. The EU Council will make this information public later. The Financial Times reported earlier that Hungary had supposedly insisted on removing Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman from the list of EU-sanctioned individuals. Luxembourg also supported the same position, according to Bloomberg sources, but Fridman will remain under sanctions. Failure to extend the sanctions could actually unfreeze up to 30% of Russia's total frozen assets. According to estimates, this could be about €60 billion of unfrozen funds or even more. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russian crypto exchange Garantex seized by law enforcement operation
The U.S. Secret Service, working with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies, has taken down and seized the website of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of being associated with darknet markets and ransomware hackers. On Thursday, the official Garantex website was replaced with a notice saying the exchange's domain has been seized by the Secret Service following a warrant by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. This is the latest action taken by Western governments against the Moscow-based exchange. Last month, the European Union also sanctioned Garantex as, saying it is 'closely associated with EU-sanctioned Russian banks.' This was part of a package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Garantex, alleging that more than $100 million in transactions done on the exchange 'are associated with illicit actors and darknet markets,' including the notorious Russian ransomware gang Conti, and the darknet market Hydra. The takedown notice, seen by TechCrunch, said that the operation was conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Europol, the Dutch National Police, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt or BKA), the Frankfurt General Prosecutor's Office, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, and the Estonian National Criminal Police. TechCrunch reached out to all these organizations for comment. At the time of writing, only the FBI responded, declining to comment. TechCrunch also reached out to Garantex via the official email addresses listed on the site before the seizure, as well as through the company's Telegram account. Garantex did not respond to these messages. TechCrunch verified the website seizure notice by analyzing Garantex's internet-facing domain records. As of Thursday, Garantex's web domain is now pointing to servers known to be controlled by the Secret Service. The same server is also host to several other website seizure notices carried out by the Secret Service in recent years. Following the seizure, Garantex made no mention of the law enforcement operation in its official Telegram channels. On Thursday morning, Garantex announced that it was 'suspending all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals,' according to a machine translation of the announcement. The decision came after stablecoin issuer Tether froze $28 million worth of its cryptocurrency on Garantex. 'We have bad news,' Garantex wrote. 'We are fighting and will not give up! Please note that all [Tether] in Russian wallets is currently under threat.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russian crypto exchange Garantex seized by law enforcement operation
The U.S. Secret Service, working with a coalition of international law enforcement agencies, has taken down and seized the website of Garantex, a Russian cryptocurrency exchange accused of being associated with darknet markets and ransomware hackers. On Thursday, the official Garantex website was replaced with a notice saying the exchange's domain has been seized by the Secret Service following a warrant by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. This is the latest action taken by Western governments against the Moscow-based exchange. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Last month, the European Union also sanctioned Garantex as, saying it is 'closely associated with EU-sanctioned Russian banks.' This was part of a package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Garantex, alleging that more than $100 million in transactions done on the exchange 'are associated with illicit actors and darknet markets,' including the notorious Russian ransomware gang Conti, and the darknet market Hydra. The takedown notice, seen by TechCrunch, said that the operation was conducted in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Europol, the Dutch National Police, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt or BKA), the Frankfurt General Prosecutor's Office, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation, and the Estonian National Criminal Police. TechCrunch reached out to all these organizations for comment. At the time of writing, only the FBI responded, declining to comment. TechCrunch also reached out to Garantex via the official email addresses listed on the site before the seizure, as well as through the company's Telegram account. Garantex did not respond to these messages. TechCrunch verified the website seizure notice by analyzing Garantex's internet-facing domain records. As of Thursday, Garantex's web domain is now pointing to servers known to be controlled by the Secret Service. The same server is also host to several other website seizure notices carried out by the Secret Service in recent years. Following the seizure, Garantex made no mention of the law enforcement operation in its official Telegram channels. On Thursday morning, Garantex announced that it was 'suspending all services, including cryptocurrency withdrawals,' according to a machine translation of the announcement. The decision came after stablecoin issuer Tether froze $28 million worth of its cryptocurrency on Garantex. 'We have bad news,' Garantex wrote. 'We are fighting and will not give up! Please note that all [Tether] in Russian wallets is currently under threat.'
