Petr Fiala’s government added two more people and one company to the Czech sanctions list. The decision is related to the current disclosure by the BIS, according to which the Russians from Prague are trying to influence the elections to the European Parliament in Germany, France or Belgium.
“With this step, we decided to hit a network of influence that would have a serious impact on the security of the Czech Republic,” announced Fiala, according to whom the group’s activities are well documented on more than 300 pages and have international reach. The prime minister also thanked the BIS, which he said had done important work.
“The BIS event revealed how Russia influences the territory of the European Union states and how it tries to influence political processes in our countries,” https://twitter.com/biscz/status/1772975617505394934.
According to counterintelligence, the main actors of the influential network were two Ukrainian businessmen and politicians with close ties to Russia – Viktor Medvedchuk and his close associate Artyom Marchevsky. In addition to them, the government also put a Czech company on the sanctions list Voice of Europewhich is based in the center of Prague and runs a pro-Russian news website.
Once someone is placed on the sanctions list, the Financial Analysis Office freezes their assets. However, according to a source from the Ministry of Finance, Voice of Europe will be able to continue operating. “However, her accounts will be frozen, assets and profits will not go to persons connected to the company,” explains the source.
Based on information from several well-informed sources, we describe how the Russian scheme worked.
BIS
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