Russia spent $300m funding foreign parties and influencing elections – 20 Minutes

Russia has quietly sent at least $300 million to political parties and candidates in more than 20 countries since 2014 in an attempt to influence elections there, according to a US intelligence estimate released Tuesday. The United States “considers these to be minimum estimates, and that Russia probably secretly transferred more funds that have not been detected”, said a senior American official. “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he told reporters on condition of anonymity. Among the most striking cases cited in this new analysis is that of a Russian ambassador stationed in an Asian country, who gave millions of dollars to a presidential candidate. Far-right candidatesUS intelligence did not specify the names of the countries concerned. But, according to a source familiar with the matter in the Biden administration, Russia spent around $500,000 supporting a candidate from the center-right Democratic Party of Albania in elections in 2017. or candidates in Montenegro, Bosnia or Madagascar, according to this same source. This person, who was not authorized to speak officially, said that Moscow used Brussels as a center from which many foundations and structures supported far-right candidates. large sums of money between 2014 and 2017, apparently with the aim of influencing the outcome of elections, added this source. In Europe, Moscow has used fictitious contracts and front companies to finance political parties, while Russian state companies funneled funds to Central America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, according to Washington. Russia sometimes sent cash, but also used cryptocurrencies and “luxurious” gifts, according to the intelligence. 100 other countries. Joe Biden’s administration had requested this estimate from his services in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which had led the United States to do everything to isolate Moscow and arm Kiev. of Russia in elections abroad “is also an attack on sovereignty”, denounced the spokesman of the State Department, Ned Price. “This is an attempt to erode the ability of people around the world to choose the governments they deem best suited to represent them,” he added. This new assessment has no analyzed Russian interference in American politics. But US intelligence services have previously accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 US election, including using social media to support Donald Trump, who had expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.