Two Russian nationals have been indicted for their role in a $10 million illegal advertising and content campaign. This breached the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and according to the Justice Department, their actions involved conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyev are the pair in the crosshairs of the Justice Department for their actions with Russian-backed broadcaster Company-1. The FBI is investigating the case.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, “As alleged in today’s indictment, Russian state broadcaster RT and its employees, including the charged defendants, co-opted online commentators by funneling them nearly $10 million to pump pro-Russia propaganda and disinformation across social media to U.S. audiences. The Department will not tolerate foreign efforts to illegally manipulate American public opinion by sowing discord and division.”
Two Russian nationals indicted in $10m case
The pair are alleged to have worked with the Russian state media channel, formerly known as Russia Today (RT) to create content. The are presumed to have been part of a deployment of “nearly $10 million to covertly finance and direct a Tennessee-based online content creation company (U.S. Company-1). In turn, U.S. Company-1 published English-language videos on multiple social media channels, including TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube. Since publicly launching in or about November 2023, U.S. Company-1 has posted nearly 2,000 videos that have garnered more than 16 million views on YouTube alone.”
The topics covered by Company-1 included national interest topics like inflation, migration, and the economy. It is alleged that this investment and the media bias to sow division through the U.S. as a company masquerading as an American broadcaster.
It is also alleged that RT sent wire transfers during October 2023 and in or about August 2023. These transfers were, according to the court documents, “totaling approximately $9.7 million, which represented nearly 90% of U.S. Company-1’s bank deposits from all sources combined.”
Both Russian nationals are charged with conspiracy to violate FARA, which can carry a five-year sentence, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
“The Justice Department has charged two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, in a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to exploit our country’s free exchange of ideas in order to covertly further its own propaganda efforts, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing.”
Image: Pixlr.
