Russian police raid opposition anti-graft group
October 15, 2019
Russian police conducted nationwide raids on Tuesday against offices linked to opposition politician Alexei Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, in the latest move that critics say is meant to silence and intimidate opponents of the Kremlin.
The raids in 30 different regions, including in Moscow, targeted Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption (FBK) over suspicion of financial crimes, Russia's Investigative Committee said. Searches of the residences of the group's employees were also conducted.
Deutsche Welle guest commentator Fyodor Krasheninnikov's home in Yekaterinburg was among those searched. Russian authorities confiscated a computer and several USB sticks. They also interrogated the journalist and author on Tuesday.
Krasheninnikov co-authored Cloud Democracy together with Leonid Volkov, one of FBK's leading members in 2012.
The committee has repeatedly accused FBK of money laundering and accepting illegal donations. The Justice Ministry earlier this month formally branded Navalny's anti-corruption group a "foreign agent," meaning it can be put under greater scrutiny.
Investigators opened the financial crimes case against FBK in August after Navalny led summer protests against the exclusion of opposition candidates from Moscow's municipal election.
The September election led to Kremlin allies suffering losses.
Navalny, whose group publishes information on corruption, said on Twitter that "the 'law enforcement system of Russia' is using all of its efforts to protect corrupt officials and bribe takers."
Navalny has been barred from politics and been arrested multiple times for his anti-Kremlin activities.
cw/ng (AFP, Reuters)