Last year, a news site operating from Prague, run by a confidant of Russian President Putin, paid hundreds of thousands of euros to politicians from the Netherlands, among others, in exchange for positions against Ukraine and the EU. The plot was revealed by the Czech secret service on Wednesday afternoon. The PVV and GroenLinks-PvdA, among others, call it ‘unacceptable’ and ‘worrisome’ and want clarification from the Dutch authorities.
The case revolves around Voice of Europe, a Prague-based news site that distributes pro-Russian news in various languages, including Dutch. This often includes right-wing Eurosceptic politicians who advocate warm ties with Russia. From the Netherlands, FvD party leader Thierry Baudet was interviewed by Voice of Europe, and from Belgium Filip Dewinter (Vlaams Belang).
BIS, the Czech secret service, now claims that Voice of Europe is funded by Moscow with the aim of destabilizing the EU and increasing Russian influence. A large number of European politicians also received large sums of cash in exchange for Russia-friendly positions, including stopping arms deliveries to Ukraine.
It remains unclear for the time being which Dutch politicians are involved. The Czech secret service, which held a press conference about the affair on Wednesday afternoon, did not mention any names. Only that it concerns politicians from six EU countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary and Poland. There is therefore no concrete indication that Baudet, for example, received money. Baudet has always categorically denied such donations. He did this on Wednesday in the House of Representatives during a debate on an exit from the EU. The discussion went completely off the rails, after which Baudet allegedly even threatened GroenLinks-PvdA MP Jesse Klaver. Baudet must therefore report to the Speaker of the House on Thursday morning.
PVV leader Geert Wilders finds it ‘totally unacceptable’ that Dutch politicians have received money. He may want a parliamentary debate about it. Klaver speaks of ‘very worrying news’ and wants clarification from the cabinet. “This is a direct threat to our national security.” CDA leader Henri Bontenbal reports: “We have to stop being naive. There is influence by Russia and other countries and the main question is how we defend ourselves against it.”
Until the war in Ukraine, PVV leader Wilders regularly expressed Russia-friendliness, but denies accepting money from Russia. During the election campaign last fall, the PVV leader told this news site: “We have zero ties with the Kremlin and we have never received a cent from the Kremlin. I will never do that. We are not friends of Russia either.”
In 2018, the PVV leader lavishly praised the Voice of Europe news forum: “I look at your valuable and unique work with great admiration,” Wilders said at the time. “I read Voice of Europe every day and gain many insights from it (…) as an antidote to the indoctrination of fake media.”
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Spread frame
Large sums were allegedly paid in this affair, according to the Czech newspaper Denik N hundreds of thousands of euros. “The main purpose of Voice of Europe was to spread the frame that peace is only possible if Ukraine gives up the right to defend its sovereignty and integrity,” he said. Denik N a high Czech official.
According to BIS, Voice of Europe was run by Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian oligarch who has been close friends with Russian President Putin for many years. He was immediately placed on the sanctions list by the Czech Republic, as was his close associate Artyom Marchevsky.
Voice of Europe has also been put on the sanctions list, meaning all financial assets have been frozen. The news site can continue to operate, but money can no longer be transferred to people affiliated with Voice of Europe.
BIS became aware of the matter when Voice of Europe started its news activities from Prague last year, with the war in Ukraine as the main topic. It quickly became apparent that the news approach of the articles was right up Russia’s alley.
Logo
A first look at Voice of Europe does not ring many alarm bells. The appearance resembles a normal news site, the logo contains the EU color blue and the yellow European stars. However, the reporting is strikingly right-wing in tone.
For example, on Wednesday there were reports about Ukraine, which would increasingly suffer from ammunition shortages and the Russian offensive. Another news report states that foreigners are responsible for more than half of all serious crimes in Frankfurt, Germany. Voice of Europe also pays attention to President Macron’s campaign for the upcoming European elections. It is stated that his constant harping on the Russian danger is not appealing to French voters, according to recent polls.
Kremlin
According to the Czech secret service BIS, all this is no coincidence. Voice of Europe is funded and run by the Kremlin, the Czechs say. Earlier this month the French newspaper published Le Monde all the story that the French secret service DGSI was investigating a pro-Russian campaign towards the European elections next June. The information also came from the Czech Republic, writes the Czech newspaper Denik N. The French targeted, among others, Guillaume Pradoura, a former member of Rassemblement National, Marine Le Pen’s former National Front.
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Pradoura was previously the personal assistant of Maximilian Krah, a German MEP of the right-wing migration and EU-sceptic AfD, and currently works for Marcel de Graaff, the Dutch MEP of Forum for Democracy.
Medvedchuck celebrated holidays with Putin
The involvement of the Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk is also spicy. He has been a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin for two decades and was long regarded as ‘Putin’s man in Ukraine’. Medvedchuk, whose fortune was estimated at more than half a billion euros a few years ago, visited Putin’s villa in Crimea and also celebrated a holiday with him in Sochi. The president is also the godfather of Medvedchuk’s daughter Darya. After the Maidan Revolution of 2014, he fled his country, just like pro-Russian President Yanukovych. Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia, Medvedchuck was placed on the sanctions list by the US. He later returned to Ukraine, where he started his own political party.
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Tags: Czech secret service Russia paid cash friendly Dutch European politicians Domestic
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