Russia has quietly sent at least $300 million to political parties and candidates in more than 20 countries since 2014 in an attempt to influence elections there, according to a US intelligence estimate released Tuesday.
The United States “considers these to be minimum estimates, and that Russia likely secretly transferred more funds that were not detected,” a senior US official said. “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Among the most striking cases cited in this new analysis is that of a Russian ambassador stationed in an Asian country, who gave millions of dollars to a presidential candidate.
Far-right candidates
US intelligence did not specify the names of the countries involved. But, according to a source familiar with the matter in the Biden administration, Russia spent about $500,000 supporting a candidate from the center-right Democratic Party of Albania in elections in 2017.
Moscow would also have financed parties or candidates in Montenegro, Bosnia or Madagascar, according to this same source. This person, who was not authorized to speak officially, said that Moscow used Brussels as a center from which many foundations and structures supported far-right candidates.
The Russian embassy in Ecuador also received “large sums” of money between 2014 and 2017, apparently with the aim of influencing the outcome of elections, the source added.
In Europe, Moscow has used fictitious contracts and front companies to finance political parties, while Russian state companies funneled funds to Central America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, according to Washington. Russia sometimes sent cash, but also used cryptocurrencies and “luxurious” gifts, according to the information.
Social media as weapons
The senior official said US diplomacy would share these findings with the governments of more than 100 other countries. The administration of Joe Biden had requested this estimate from his services in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which had led the United States to do everything to isolate Moscow and arm kyiv.
Russia’s alleged interference in foreign elections “is also an attack on sovereignty,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. “This is an attempt to erode the ability of people around the world to choose the governments they deem best suited to represent them,” he added.
This new assessment did not analyze Russian interference in American politics. But US intelligence services have previously accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 US election, including using social media to support Donald Trump, who had expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.