Alleged Russian intelligence officer Aleksey Stovbun, who was identified as being active in Latvia as part of an investigation by the State Security Service (VDD), has also been involved in contacts with right-wing politicians in Italy and pro-Kremlin lobbying, LTV’s “De facto” investigative program reported December 15, citing Ukrainian sources.
One of the documents published in connection with the case concerns a mysterious pro-Russia asset in Latvia codenamed “Financier”.
A publication on the Euromaidan Press portal about the trail left by Stovbun appeared at the end of November. The author of the study, Ukrainian political scientist Anton Shekhovtsov, has been following far-right European politicians with ties to Russia for many years, but until now he had not managed to identify these specific Russian operatives.
Shekhovtsov is Director of the Centre for Democratic Integrity (Austria), and Visiting Professor at the Central European University (Austria).
“I recently received documents stating that in Italy and elsewhere, at least one of the coordinators on the Russian side was Alexey Stovbun, whom I identified as directly connected to the FSB, the Russian Federal Security Service,” said Shekhovtsov in an interview with “De facto”.
Evidence of Russian influence on pro-Kremlin decisions in Italy was given to the author by a source he does not identify. “The source is reliable. I trust the source, otherwise I would not share this information,” he said.
The information about Stovbun complements what “De facto” managed to report about this Russian citizen at the beginning of this year . His name surfaced in the investigation launched by the State Security Service (VDD) last year into providing assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against Latvia. In its piece in January De Facto noted Stovbun’s links to political figures in both Italy and Serbia.
In Latvia the State Security Service detained four people more than a year ago, including businessman Igors Bobirs.
Interestingly, the Euromaidan report also notes that the contact codenamed “Financier” in Latvia ” complained that the Latvian authorities have intensified economic control over private businesses, requiring banks to report suspicious transactions – especially those involving Russian companies or citizens.”
“De facto” said it has unofficial information that Bobirs and Stovbun had business ties. Publicly available information suggests that one of Bobirs’ companies, “Litada”, produced an ointment for joint tissue regeneration and pain relief. The product’s website indicates that it operates in both the European Union and Russian markets. Customer reviews do not look genuine, however, because one of the supposed customers, ‘Juris Lūsis’, happens to look exactly like renowned American investor Warren Buffett.
A year ago, while Bobirs was in custody in Liepāja, his health deteriorated rapidly and he died. This summer, another person detained in the VDD case, Raitis Dolgovs, died after a long illness.
The death of Bobirs in custody a year ago sparked speculation about the cause of death. The case was investigated by the Prison Service but no criminal offense occurred, the service told LTV.
“Yes, there is a report that Stovbun wrote to a higher-up. I don’t know who it is or which people. But the report as a whole talks about a person with the nickname “Financier”, who says that it is much more difficult to operate in Latvia if you have a Russian passport or a passport from a suspicious country,” Shekhovtsov recounts.
It cannot be ruled out that the now deceased Bobirs was the “Financier”, but it is by no means certain. It could easily be someone else who might still be active.
As early as 2019, “Financier” complained to Stovbun (himself codemaned “Erudite”) about strict financial supervision requirements introduced in Latvia. Banks must inform financial intelligence about suspicious payments.
An intelligence report apparently filed by Stovbun said:
“The ‘suspicious’ category includes all payments related to Russian companies made from Russia or to Russia. (..) In commercial circles, I call the current situation in Latvia a financial genocide. It is believed that in this way the country is getting rid of the fifth column. (..) From a source working in intelligence services, “Finansists” learned that instructions on economic impact measures were sent to Latvian government structures from the American embassy immediately after the appointment of the new US ambassador to Riga in the fall of 2019.”
“De facto” could not fully verify the authenticity of the data about Stovbun’s activities linked to Latvia, but said they seem credible because, the content is consistent with real events and other known facts.
Much more is now known about Stovbun’s activities in Italy cultivating support for the Kremlin, which are outlined in Shekhovtsov’s report found here .
