The Latvian State Security Service has launched an investigation into the activities of the sanctioned organization Pravfond

The State Security Service is investigating cases related to the Pravfond fund, a Russian legal aid fund for “compatriots” abroad, which is subject to European Union (EU) sanctions, the Security Service told LETA.

The Security Service noted that this fund, which is supervised by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has long been one of the Kremlin's tools for promoting Russia's interests and strengthening its influence abroad. Information obtained by the Security Service indicates that Pravfond, like other so-called “compatriots” support funds, was used as a cover for activities in the interests of Russian special services.

For example, the fund was used to finance propaganda and disinformation projects abroad directed against Latvia and other NATO countries.

During an investigation into the activities of the information resource Imhoclub.lv, which is financed by Pravfond, the Security Service established that representatives of Pravfond provided the authors of Imhoclub.lv content with precise instructions on what messages to include in Imhoclub.lv content in exchange for funding.

According to information available to the Security Service, Pravfond's staff includes Russian special services employees who pose as independent experts and Russian human rights defenders.

As reported, the Russian legal aid fund for “compatriots” abroad, Pravfond, continues to finance individuals and organizations in European Union countries even after sanctions were imposed against it in mid-2023, according to an international investigative report by OCCRP.

As part of a new joint investigation, “Dear Compatriots,” journalists found that the fund paid the legal expenses of men accused of espionage and collaborated with intelligence agents in Lithuania as part of a large-scale campaign to discredit the case against former Soviet officers. The journalists also found that the foundation financed pro-Russian propaganda in various European countries, especially in the former Soviet republics of the Baltic states, and helped promote the Kremlin's foreign policy interests.

The European Union imposed sanctions on Pravda and its executive director, Alexander Udaltsov, in June 2023, which in theory made it much more difficult for the foundation to transfer money to Europe.

However, tens of thousands of internal Pravfond emails obtained by the Danish public broadcaster DR and shared with OCCRP and more than two dozen media partners of the Dear Compatriots project show how the fund was able to continue its activities in Europe with relative ease.

In the two years since the sanctions were imposed, Pravda Fund has transferred funds to recipients in at least 11 EU member states, including suspected cybercriminals and Russians arrested for smuggling migrants. To do this, the fund used a wide range of tactics, from transferring money through third-party bank accounts to simply finding people who could transport cash across the border.

The draft annual report on the fund's activities, sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry in March 2024, notes that despite some “practical difficulties” caused by EU sanctions, “it has so far been possible to resolve the problems in each specific case, using, among other things, alternative and workarounds.”

Some people in need of assistance contacted Pravda Fund directly. Others were referred by Russian embassies or had applications submitted on their behalf by third parties. However, all applicants filled out an official application form detailing their needs and requesting a specific amount of assistance, usually to cover legal costs.

Many of these applications and signed contracts were found among the 50,000 emails received by journalists as part of the Dear Compatriots project, which allowed them to gain a more complete picture of how the organization operated and sent money to its grant recipients.

Pravfond often offered “workarounds” for transferring money to Europe directly from individuals who applied for funding. For example, in September 2023, a Pravfond representative informed a grant applicant in Germany that due to EU sanctions, “our bank transfers are not accepted on its territory.”

In Latvia, one such scheme began to unravel when a partner involved in the transfer of funds demanded a commission.

Source: The Baltic Times