The fund Pravfond has close ties to Russian intelligence. Through a network of departments in different countries, tens of millions of kroner have been paid out in recent years.
Documents, which SVT has obtained in an international collaboration, reveal that the money has, among other things, gone to legal fees for a Russian arms dealer and an FSB agent who was convicted of a high-profile murder in Berlin.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, takes the findings seriously.
– This is further proof that Russia is trying to manipulate information and influence our society. For many years we have been calling it hybrid attacks against our democracy, against our society, she tells SVT Nyheter during a press conference in Sweden.
“We create a shield”
Ursula von der Leyen wants the EU countries to cooperate by pooling the expertise available to counter disinformation and information influence.
– My proposal is that we create a shield for democracy, says von der Leyen.
In Sweden, the president of the Russian Confederation, Lioudmila Siegel, has been the front person for Pravfond. She has left Sweden for Russia and has not been able to be reached for an interview.
Siegel, in turn, has reported to the head of the Nordic countries, Vladimir Pozdorovkin – a designated officer in the Russian intelligence service SVR.
The Russian Confederation, Rurik, has received around three million kroner in Swedish state grants over the past ten years. At the same time, Rurik, and associations linked to the association, have received around one million kroner from Pravfond. State subsidies to Rurik were stopped last year.