{"id":50884,"date":"2021-02-02T14:47:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-02T18:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=50884"},"modified":"2021-02-02T14:52:06","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T18:52:06","slug":"alexey-navalny-prove-to-be-willing-pawn-of-mi6-top-advisor-solicits-millions-from-british-spook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=50884","title":{"rendered":"<b>Alexey Navalny Proves to be Willing Pawn of MI6, Top Advisor Solicited Millions from British Spook<\/b>"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Top Navalny aide asked alleged British spy for millions in funding, intelligence video released by Russia&#8217;s FSB claims to reveal<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->RT.com<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 640px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-50884-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/files_2021.02_6018276020302731730cba89.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/files_2021.02_6018276020302731730cba89.mp4\">http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/files_2021.02_6018276020302731730cba89.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n<p>Surveillance footage, recorded in the early 2010s, appears to show a close associate of Alexey Navalny seeking cash and intelligence from an alleged British spy and suggesting his anti-corruption work may benefit firms in London.<\/p>\n<p>The tape, which was first reported by RT television on Monday, is said to have been filmed by the Federal Security Service (FSB) sometime in 2012 and allegedly shows a meeting between Vladimir Ashurkov and an employee of the British Embassy in Moscow. Ashurkov is the executive director of the FBK, Alexey Navalny\u2019s anti-corruption organization.<\/p>\n<p>The person he met at a Moscow cafe was identified as James William Thomas Ford, then Second Secretary for political affairs of the UK embassy in Russia. The FSB suspected he was an MI6 agent working under diplomatic cover. The discussion presents problematic optics for Navalny and the FBK team, and appears to support\u00a0the Russian government\u2019s claim that they deserve to be considered foreign agents.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__cover\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183db72030272720169a9b.jpg\" sizes=\"783px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183db72030272720169a9b.jpg\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"read-more__cover lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183db72030272720169a9b.jpg\" sizes=\"783px\" alt=\"RT\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183db72030272720169a9b.jpg\" \/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"media__footer media__footer_bottom \">\n<div class=\"media__title media__title_footer\">Vladimir Ashurkov attends Ksenia Sobchak and Vladimir Ashurkov in Conversation at Pushkin House on December 3, 2012 in London, England. \u00a9\u00a0 Getty Images \/ Ben Pruchnie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Part of Ashurkov\u2019s pitch, recorded secretly by the security service, was dedicated to fundraising.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIf we had more money, we would expand our team, of course,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said, adding that his goal of obtaining\u00a0<em>\u201ca little money\u201d<\/em>\u00a0like\u00a0<em>\u201c10, 20 million dollars a year\u201d<\/em>\u00a0would make a huge difference.\u00a0<em>\u201cAnd this is not a big amount of money for people who have billions at stake. And that\u2019s the message I am trying to project in my fundraising efforts and talking to people in the business community,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n<p>The FBK\u2019s stated goal is to expose alleged cases of corruption in Russia. While it is essentially a type of journalistic organisation, its work is ultimately tied to Navalny&#8217;s aims gaining political power. Ashurkov outlined the organization\u2019s activities as\u00a0<em>\u201cmass protests, civil initiatives, propaganda, establishing contacts with the elite and explain to them that we are reasonable people and we are not going to demolish everything and take away their assets.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At the time of the meeting, Vladimir Putin had just returned to the Kremlin, and was taking a tougher line on foreign meddling in Russia&#8217;s domestic affairs. His predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev, had been more liberal and Western-leaning and Putin&#8217;s comeback\u00a0was greeted negatively in the US and Britain.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__cover\">\n<div class=\"media\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183dc220302731e7325578.jpg\" sizes=\"783px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183dc220302731e7325578.jpg\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"read-more__cover lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183dc220302731e7325578.jpg\" sizes=\"783px\" alt=\"RT\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183dc220302731e7325578.jpg\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In addition to explaining the FBK\u2019s financial needs, Ashurkov said it could use\u00a0information\u00a0provided by the British government, particularly the Serious Fraud Office, for its expos\u00e9s. The agency\u00a0<em>\u201chas access to a lot of information that would not be available to us, from British sources\u201d<\/em>\u00a0on certain Russian people. He named businessmen Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov, who both have assets in United Kingdom, as examples.<\/p>\n<p>Other UK government agencies could have helped as well, the activist suggested, while London, in general, was\u00a0<em>\u201calready taking a tougher stance towards Russia.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The FBK\u2019s activities would have benefited British business too, the activist said.\u00a0<em>\u201cWe will release a report on VTB bank\u00a0<\/em>[a major financial institution in Russia]<em>\u00a0in association with Henry Jackson society\u00a0<\/em>[a neo-conservative lobby group with an avowed anti-Russian agenda]<em>\u00a0in London,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he said. Allegations of corruption involving one of the largest Russian banks would\u00a0<em>\u201cmake the case that it represents a threat to European financial markets and their integrity because it is a significant player in Europe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>And they make it more difficult for British firms like Lloyds or RBS or other big banks like Barclays to compete.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The British diplomat did not commit to helping FBK during the conversation, citing the Russian legislation on foreign agents that was primed to come into force in November 2012. But he suggested turning to Transparency International for grants. Ashurkov said he doubted working with Transparency\u00a0<em>\u201cwould be effective.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ashurkov is currently residing in the UK, having left Russia in 2014. In his home country, he is wanted on allegations of committing fraud to finance Navalny\u2019s 2013 campaign for the office of the mayor of Moscow.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article__cover\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183c5785f5406132657794.jpg\" sizes=\"783px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183c5785f5406132657794.jpg\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"read-more__cover lazyautosizes lazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183c5785f5406132657794.jpg\" sizes=\"783px\" alt=\"RT\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2021.02\/original\/60183c5785f5406132657794.jpg\" \/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"media__footer media__footer_bottom \">\n<div class=\"media__title media__title_footer\">Vladimir Ashurkov, left, a top aide of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, right, attends a news conference during Navalny&#8217;s 2013 election bid for mayor of Moscow. \u00a9\u00a0 AP Photo \/ Alexander Zemlianichenko<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He was one of the witnesses invited\u00a0by the British Parliament for its 2018 inquiry into alleged corruption in Russia. His name was also listed in the leaked documents of the Integrity Initiative, an apparent British state-run clandestine\u00a0information warfare operation linking public figures to coordinate them in supporting London\u2019s preferred narratives and political goals.<\/p>\n<p>The year the tape was allegedly filmed is incidentally the same as when a British government official finally\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/spy-rock-britain-admit-147\/\">acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0that an infamous fake rock espionage incident in Russia was genuine. The scandal broke in 2006 and involved British diplomats using a WiFi device disguised as a rock to collect intelligence from sources in Russia.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe spy rock was embarrassing,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Tony Blair\u2019s chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, told the BBC at the time, adding that Moscow made its allegations public for political reasons. The purpose, the broadcaster suggested, was to justify the passage of the foreign agents law.<\/p>\n<p>RT has reached out to Mr Ford, Mr Ashurkov, as well as the UK Foreign Office and UK Embassy in Moscow for their comment on the story, but has yet to hear back from any of them.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/514291-navalny-aide-funding-alleged-british-spy\/\">https:\/\/www.rt.com\/russia\/514291-navalny-aide-funding-alleged-british-spy\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top Navalny aide asked alleged British spy for millions in funding, intelligence video released by Russia&#8217;s FSB claims to reveal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}