Tuesday April 27, 2021
Fooled into video conference
False Navalny confidante fools politicians
The only line of contact with the imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny is confidants like Leonid Volkov. Dutch politicians talk to him to find out more about Nawalny’s health – at least they think so. A fraudster is fooling MPs, possibly even on behalf of the Kremlin.
During a video conference, Dutch MPs fell for an impersonator of an employee of the Kremlin opponent, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in the prison camp. Corresponding media reports confirmed a spokesman for the Second Chamber of Parliament. Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee thought they were having an online conversation with Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s internationally known close confidante. However, it was a fraud who looked like Wolkow and used the so-called deep fake technique, as reported by the Dutch daily “De Volkskrant”.
Volkov published a Video, in which he explained how such computer-generated recordings can be easily exposed. For example, the person you are talking to can be asked on the screen to pick their nose or prick their cheek with their fingers. The digitally generated image will be destroyed, said Volkov. At the same time, in the face of several such cases recently, he expressed concern that politicians in Europe were not checking their sources better. How the fraudster came into contact with the parliamentarians is not yet known.
Volkov suspects the “Kremlin-backed jokers Lexus and Wowan” behind the action. The two Russians repeatedly cause a stir by fooling celebrities. Because they use numbers that are not publicly available, they have a reputation for working closely with the Russian power apparatus in Moscow. “That is an impressive scale of the operation!” Wrote Volkov on Facebook. Baltic parliamentarians and the British were also set up by the trolls.
Kremlin cracks down on Navalny and his colleagues
Russia is taking ever tougher voices against critical voices such as Navalny, Volkov and their comrades-in-arms. A Moscow court today imposed far-reaching bans on the anti-corruption foundation Navalnys. The FBK foundation is not allowed to publish content on the Internet, use state media, organize protests, participate in elections or use bank balances, FBK director Ivan Zhdanov announced on the online service Twitter. The Moscow court had previously announced that it had banned the foundation from “some activities” without giving any details.
Yesterday, the Russian judiciary imposed a temporary ban on Navalny’s nationwide network of regional offices. These also play a major role in the elections, as they repeatedly campaign for “intelligent voting”. In doing so, they call for a vote regardless of the party for the candidate who has the best prospects against the candidate who is loyal to the Kremlin. In addition, proceedings are currently underway regarding a possible classification of Nawalny’s organizations as “extremist”. The Russian public prosecutor’s office has applied for this and wants to have the organizations completely banned.
Detained in Russia since returning in January
Navalny is one of the most prominent Russian opposition politicians and a bitter opponent of President Vladimir Putin. His foundation has repeatedly uncovered cases of corruption in recent years. It last made headlines in January with a report on a huge luxury estate on the Black Sea that is said to belong to Putin. The corresponding YouTube video was clicked 116 million times.
In August 2020, Putin’s opponents barely survived an attack in Russia with a neurotoxin from the Novichok group. After the attack, for which Navalny blames the Kremlin, he was brought to Germany and treated at the Berlin Charité. Immediately after his return to Russia in January, the 44-year-old was arrested and later sentenced to more than two and a half years in a camp for allegedly violating probation conditions. The verdict and others are considered politically motivated and had caused international outrage and triggered diplomatic tensions. Navalny went on a hunger strike to protest against the prison conditions and, according to his supporters, was now in mortal danger.
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