According to a new U.S. intelligence review, Russia has secretly funnelled at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders.
According to the review, which the Biden administration commissioned this summer, Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of its covert campaign with Kremlin interests seen as aligned to weaken democratic systems and promote global political forces.
A senior U.S. official, who like other officials spoke to reporters on Tuesday, to discuss intelligence findings the administration said that the condition of anonymity decided to declassify some of the review’s findings in an attempt to counter Russia’s ability to sway political systems in countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere.
“We can and we will expose it if they accept Russian money secretly. We’re putting these foreign parties and candidates on notice that, by shining this light on Russian covert political financing and Russian attempts to undermine democratic processes”, said by the official.
Ecuador, according to an administration source familiar with the matter, Countries where such activities were identified included Albania, Montenegro, Madagascar and, potentially.
They said the Russian ambassador gave millions of dollars in cash to a presidential candidate officials pointed to one Asian country, which they declined to name.
Sometimes to the benefit of far-right groups they said that Kremlin-linked forces have also used shell companies, think tanks and other means to influence political events.
The U.S. government detected an uptick in Russian covert political financing, said by the senior official in 2014. Within the United States the review did not address Russian activities.
Russia under President Vladimir Putin launched a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to assist then-candidate Donald Trump by both U.S. spy agencies and a bipartisan Senate investigation assessments concluded.
The publication of details comes as the United States about the Kremlin’s alleged political influence campaign expands its military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, now in its seventh month.
Since the White House has taken the unusual step of repeatedly releasing declassified intelligence related to Moscow’s intentions and actions related to Ukraine, earlier this year what U.S. officials have described as Russian disinformation operations part of an attempt to push back on Putin’s ambitions there and counteract.
On Monday in more than 100 countries a State Department démarche to U.S. embassies described the alleged Russian activities and suggested steps the United States and its allies can take to push back, including sanctions, travel bans or the expulsion of suspected Russian spies involved in political financing activities.
By Russian government officials and legislators the cable, which officials provided to reporters, said that Russian political financing was sometimes overseen, and had been executed by bodies including Russia’s Federal Security Service.
It said that the démarche also named Russian oligarchs in financing schemes which were involved including Yevgeniy Prigozhin and Alexander Babakov.
After making vast sums in Russian government catering contracts Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s chef”, was charged in 2018 by U.S. officials with attempting to interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections. To the private military firm Wagner and is wanted by the FBI he has been linked.
In France Babakov is a Russian lawmaker allegedly involved in financing a far-right party.
In other countries the cable said that Moscow has used cryptocurrency, cash and gifts to shape political events, to do so often employing accounts and resources of Russian embassies.
It said that “Russia may increasingly rely on its covert influence toolkit, in the coming months including covert political financing, in Central and South America, Africa, in these regions amid its ongoing war in Ukraine the Middle East and Asia in an attempt to undermine the efficacy of international sanctions and maintain its influence”.
American officials believe it could go far beyond the nations and sums that have been identified which in other countries about the activities U.S. diplomats are briefing counterparts.
The senior official said that “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg,”. “We are sharing these response measures, so rather than sit on the side lines.”
U.S. officials are also asking partner nations to share their own information to help the U.S. government attain a fuller picture of what Russia is doing, about Russian financing.
In the United States the review did not address Russian influence efforts, the senior official acknowledged that the issue remains a major challenge requiring continued work to safeguard the U.S. political system and elections.
“There’s no question that we have this vulnerability as well”, said the official.
Source:- https://usstudieson.com/on-secret-political-campaign-russia-spent-millions/
