Latest news with #Pravfond
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Two Irish-based lawyers and their links to Putin's soft-power agency
An ad placed by a Dublin -based solicitor in a Russian -language newspaper based in Ireland in 2023 offered a free consultation to 'compatriots'. What Elizaveta Donnery's offer didn't mention was that the service would be funded by the Kremlin through Pravfond, an organisation established in 2012 with the stated goal of protecting the rights of Russians living abroad, primarily by offering assistance in legal matters. However, the EU and European intelligence agencies say Pravfond does much more than that in some countries. While Pravfond is used in Ireland solely for funding the provision of legal advice to Russian expats, it is used for different purposes in other countries. READ MORE In these countries, it is designed to act as a safety net for Russian intelligence assets – agents or spies – who get into legal trouble abroad, according to western security services. In some countries, it also provides cover stories for these spies. Now, a new investigative project , co-ordinated by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an independent network of journalists, reveals for the first time the activity of Pravfond across dozens of countries, activity that has continued despite the imposition of EU sanctions in 2023. The journalists – including Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher – sifted through an archive of Pravfond's records with 55,000 emails and 20,000 documents to examine the extent of the organisation's operations. He found another Irish-based Russian solicitor, Olga Shajaku, mentioned in the documents. There is no documentary evidence showing that she ever received funds from Pravfond but in one email, sent in 2016, contained within internal Pravfond records, she provided the organisation with the bank details of her firm's client account. Unlike certain Pravfond-funded operations in other countries, there is nothing to suggest that Donnery or other Russians in Ireland supported by Pravfond engaged in intelligence gathering, influence operations or illegal activity. So what is Pravfond and what role has it played in funding propaganda operations designed to improve Russia's reputation abroad? And why would the Kremlin be interested in funding free legal aid to its diaspora in Ireland? The Russian Embassy in Dublin rejects the findings of the reporting project, calling them 'preposterous allegations' and noting that Pravfond provides 'legal assistance in cases of violations of the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of compatriots, in full accordance with universally recognised humanitarian principles and norms of international human rights law'. Gallagher tells In the News about the investigation and Pravfond's activities. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Dublin's largest illegal landfill dump is cleared
Dublin City Council has started to clear a large illegal landfill site in Darndale on the north of the city. Video: Bryan O'Brien The Israeli military said that it fired near a diplomatic delegation which had "deviated" from an approved route in the occupied West Bank. Video: Reuters Israeli attacks on Jabalia overnight have resulted in multiple fatalities and numerous injuries, mainly to children, according to reports. Caoimhe Ní Ghormáin, an expert in medieval Irish manuscripts, and John Gillis, who led the conservation, talk about the Book of Leinster. Video: Ronan McGreevy Gordon Manning speaks to members of the Dublin Senior Camogie squad ahead of this week's Camogie Association vote on the wearing of shorts. Video: Bryan O'Brien Conor Gallagher reports on Pravfond, set up by Putin, that intelligence agencies say does more than its stated goal of protecting the rights of Russians abroad 14-year-old Cara Darmody started a 50-hour disability rights protest outside Leinster House to highlight delays in children getting an assessment of needs. CCTV footage of a tractor being driven by 16 year old completely crushing a car in Graiguenamanagh. Amateur video footage captures the moment a sailing tallship crashed into New York's Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, killing two people and injuring 17 others.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
How the Kremlin's ‘soft power' agency supporting expats overseas skirts sanctions
Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it became increasingly difficult for Russia to continue its influence operations in Europe. For years, the Kremlin had operated a network of organisations designed to increase Russian soft power overseas. One of these organisations was the Fund for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad, known by its Russian acronym Pravfond. Since 2012 Pravfond had been paying for legal services for Russians living abroad, including in Ireland. However, according to various western intelligence agencies it was, in some countries, also funding influence operations and acting as an extension of Russian intelligence. Following the invasion, the EU placed extensive sanctions on Russia's banking sector, which made it increasingly difficult for Pravfond and similar organisations to move money overseas. READ MORE In 2023, the EU also specifically sanctioned Pravfond, accusing it of acting in the Kremlin's foreign policy interests. One person who was affected was Elena Berezhnaya, a 72-year-old Ukrainian who had risen to prominence by criticising Ukraine's pro-EU government and advocating pro-Russian positions. In 2022, Berezhnaya was arrested by the Ukrainian security service and accused of 'high treason'. Documents contained in a collection of more than 70,000 emails and records detailing the activities of Pravfond, show she started to receive help from Sergey Borisovich Zavorotny, who previously served as press secretary to Ukraine's pro-Russian prime minister Mykola Azarov. In 2014 Azarov fled to Russia following the Euromaiden protests that resulted in the ousting of the pro-Russian government in Kyiv. [ Investigation: The links between lawyers in Ireland and Putin's soft-power agency Opens in new window ] After her arrest, Pravfond agreed to provide Zavorotny with $3,000 (€2,644) for Berezhnaya's medical care in custody. The following year, as they discussed another payment, Zavorotny raised the problem of sanctions, which he said made it 'impossible' to receive Pravfond funds. This is where another Ukrainian woman came in, specifically a woman living in the northwest of Ireland. In April 2023, Zavorotny proposed a plan to Pravfond. The fund would give money to parents who had adult children living in the United States. These children would then transfer the money to the Ukrainian woman living in the northwest. This woman was a close associate of Berezhnaya and would ensure the money got to her legal team in Kyiv, Zavorotny said in a note. Later that month Zavorotny signed another contract with Pravfond for $3,000 for Berezhnaya. In 2024 there was another similar agreement. It was not the first time the Ukrainian woman living in the northwest had handled money linked to Pravfond. A Western Union receipt, which was found in the Pravfond records, shows she received just over $2,800 from a US account in November 2022. The Irish address on the receipt is the same as a location previously used to house Ukrainian refugees. It is not known if Berezhnaya continues to receive money from Pravfond or if this money is been funnelled through Ireland. In December 2024, according to international media reports, Berezhnaya was jailed for 14 years by a Ukrainian court. Records concerning operations in Ireland and other countries show Pravfond quickly adapted to the new reality of wartime sanctions. In fact, it appears they were little more than a speed bump. In March 2024 a draft annual report of the foundation's activities, sent to the Russian foreign ministry and included in the leaked communications, noted that sanctions had imposed 'certain difficulties for practical work'. 'Nevertheless,' the executive director of the foundation Aleksandr Udaltsov wrote in the report, 'so far it has been possible to resolve issues in each specific case, using, among other things, alternative and workaround options.' In response to queries, the Russian embassy in Dublin said it 'firmly rejects preposterous allegations' made against Pravfond, which it said acts in 'full accordance with universally recognised humanitarian principles and norms of international human rights law'. The embassy spokesman compared its activity to Ireland's Emigrant Support Programme, which provides assistance to the Irish diaspora. The spokesman dismissed the queries from The Irish Times, saying they had 'nothing to do with journalism and amounts to libel and open Russophobia', he said.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Russia funnelled money to Kremlin supporter in Ukraine via Ireland to bypass sanctions, records show
A former senior official in Ukraine's ousted pro-Russian government sought to use Ireland to funnel Kremlin money into Kyiv and bypass international sanctions, an investigation by The Irish Times has found. Under the plan, the money would be sent from Moscow to the United States and then to a woman in Ireland who would forward it to a prominent pro-Russian activist imprisoned by Ukrainian authorities. [ How the Kremlin's 'soft power' agency supporting expats overseas skirts sanctions ] Documents detailing the scheme are contained in a collection of more than 70,000 emails and records concerning the activities of a Kremlin-backed legal fund, which EU security agencies say is an extension of Russian intelligence in some countries. The Fund for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad, known by its Russian acronym Pravfond, was founded by the Russian government in 2012 and has close links to Russian intelligence officers. READ MORE Details of Pravfond's operations in Ireland , dating to 2013, were revealed by The Irish Times on Wednesday. The documents also show Ireland played a role as a waypoint for the transfer of Pravfond funds to other countries. In April 2023 Sergey Zavorotny, a one-time adviser to Ukraine's former pro-Russia prime minister Nikolay Azarov, requested funds from Pravfond to pay for medical bills for Elena Berezhnaya, a well-known pro-Russian activist in Ukraine. Mr Zavorotny had previously acted as press secretary to Mr Azarov, who stood down as prime minister in 2014. Ms Berezhnaya (72) started receiving at least $3,000 (€2,644) a year from Pravfond via Mr Zavorotny in 2022, after she was arrested by the Ukrainian security services and accused of 'high treason'. In 2023 Mr Zavorotny told Pravfond it was impossible to get funds to Ms Berezhnaya due to international sanctions. As a workaround, he proposed that money from Pravfond be transferred to Russian parents whose children were living in the United States. These funds would then be transferred via money transfer company Western Union, or another payments system, to Dublin where they would be received by a close associate of Ms Berezhnaya living in the northwest whose current whereabouts could not be traced. This woman would then get the money to Ms Berezhnaya's legal team in Kyiv. In response to queries, the Russian embassy in Dublin said it 'firmly rejects preposterous allegations made against Pravfond' and accused The Irish Times of 'libel and open Russophobia'.
LeMonde
22-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
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.
