The portal is back online
Voice of Europe: Politicians paid by courier
April 13, 2024, 12:08 pm
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More details about the Russian propaganda portal Voice of Europe are slowly becoming known. According to security officials, money meant for right-wing politicians arrived in Poland by courier. Its value is said to be several lakhs of Euros.
As “Spiegel” learned from security sources, the money for the Russian influence operation around the Voice of Europe media portal allegedly came directly from Russia. It was brought by courier through Poland to the Czech Republic, where it allegedly went to politicians. According to security sources, courier trips were observed and filmed; The total amount is between 500,000 euros and one million euros.
Meanwhile, the portal appears to be back online – under a new domain. According to Austrian online portal Profile, the operators have moved servers to Kazakhstan to avoid the ban in Europe. Political scientist Anton Shekovsov told the portal that he has been observing this phenomenon for many years. Western right-wing populism follows a trend of moving its domains outside of European borders.
Two weeks ago, the BIS, the Czech domestic intelligence service, took the lead in uncovering a large-scale influence operation by Russia aimed at promoting pro-Kremlin propaganda. Disinformation was spread by the Voice of Europe media, and according to the Czech government, money was also sent to far-right politicians. It was said to be “several hundred thousand euros” from the Czech Republic at the time.
Baistron refuses to accept the money
AfD top politician Petr Bystron, second on the list for the European elections, is suspected of accepting the money, which he denies. He has given interviews to Voice of Europe and is a frequent topic on media portals.
Pavel Žáček, head of the parliamentary security committee in Prague, gave a similar explanation to the Czech daily “Deník N” on Wednesday about the route of money through Poland. He was able to see the BIS documents and said the aim was to create a “fifth column within the EU”.
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