Post by cenydd on Aug 12, 2013 10:32:04 GMT
Russian prosecutors are investigating the campaign funding of opposition leader Alexei Navalny after Kremlin supporters alleged that he was getting illegal donations from foreigners.
Mr Navalny, who is appealing against a jail sentence, hopes to be elected Moscow mayor in September.
He denied the funding claims, stressing that donations to his campaign were all checked by the authorities.
He is a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.
The general prosecutor's office said it had found evidence of foreign donations for Mr Navalny's election campaign, which it had passed on to the interior ministry, so that a criminal case could be opened. Russian law bans foreigners from funding Russian election campaigns.
Mr Navalny, who is appealing against a jail sentence, hopes to be elected Moscow mayor in September.
He denied the funding claims, stressing that donations to his campaign were all checked by the authorities.
He is a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.
The general prosecutor's office said it had found evidence of foreign donations for Mr Navalny's election campaign, which it had passed on to the interior ministry, so that a criminal case could be opened. Russian law bans foreigners from funding Russian election campaigns.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23664552
It could well be that foreigners are queuing up to fund someone in Russia opposed to Putin, since he isn't exactly making himself universally popular at the moment, but you'd think that in the context of Russian politics anybody opposing Putin would want to make absolutely sure that they were more than squeaky clean, and not giving him any kind of ammunition to throw at them. Difficult one to judge - hopefully more detail will emerge.