Lobbying Activities Favouring the Russian Federation
- by Gabriel Dupont
Continuing the topic of the unreliability of information in the declaration of the European deputy from France T. Mariani, regarding flights to the Russian Federation and Crimea. T. Mariani actively hides his financial ties with the Russian Federation and denies that any third-party commercial structures have financed his participation in events in favor of the Russian Federation (particularly visits to Crimea).
According to our information, T. Mariani receives funds for his lobbying activities favoring the Russian Federation for the Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev. Before the election of T. Mariani as a deputy to the EP, the funds were received openly as income from particles that he had in companies in the Russian Federation working in the construction sector and providing « advice » to other business structures. After T. Mariani was elected to the EP, he re-registered his property and assets in the Russian Federation to dummies, including his wife’s relatives.
Several investigations are underway regarding T. Mariani and the financing of the activities of the French National Unity Party, including one in the framework of a court case on granting loans to the party from a Russian bank in the Czech Republic in 2014, and at least two – by the tax police and the financial prosecutor’s office of France. A separate investigation is being conducted within the framework of the European Parliament regarding the organization of T. Mariani’s trip to the Crimea in June-July 2020. By all indications, T. Mariani has a conflict of interest (obtaining an unlawful benefit) by the requirements of ethics of conduct for EP employees and deputies in force in the EP.
Declaring his visit to Moscow and Crimea in June-July 2020 following the internal rules of the European Parliament, T. Mariani indicated the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation as the organizer and sponsor of the visit. The organization mentioned above purchase services through its subdivision of the Federal State Institution, « Apparatus of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation .»
However, our colleague journalists learned that the Federal State Institution « Apparatus of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation » does not have orders for services in the financial statements of 2020 in the aviation company LLC « Severstal Aviation Enterprise » or in any other airline.
At the same time, the aforementioned financial report contains information on transactions with the Russian company Grata Production LLC. Submitting transactions coincides with the dates of T. Mariani’s stay in Crimea and the Russian Federation. However, the targeted use of funds is organizing and holding a conference because of the pandemic in an online format.
The owner of Grata Production LLC is Tatiana Vadimovna Panferova, who also owns Grata ADV LLC. The legal addresses of both companies are the same (117036, Russian Federation, Moscow, Profsoyuznaya st., 3). According to the financial statements of these companies, they regularly become winners in tenders organized by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and its structures.
In addition to the fact that T. Mariani flies to Crimea, he also recognizes its territory of the Russian Federation. He does not hesitate to remember this in documents, including on the official letterhead of the EP. We have in our access a copy of the letter of the European parliamentarian, where he welcomes the so-called « power » of Crimea on the occasion of the « day of accession » in the Russian Federation.
We also learned that the Delegation of Ukraine to the European Union on March 31 reacted to the so-called « congratulations » of T. Mariani with official appeals to the President of the European Parliament D. Sassoli and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament D. McAllister demanding the use of all possible levers for dismissal of T. Mariani from work in the AFET committee.
We have identified the facts of reflection of Crimea as the territory of the Russian Federation in T. Marianne’s official declarations.
And also received a reaction to this from the Delegation of Ukraine to the European Union. Which sent official letters to the President of the European Parliament D. Sassoli and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament D. McAllister, as well as a note to the EEAS with an appeal to respond to the gross violation of the European policy of non-recognition on May 26, 2021.
I would like to finally see some effective reaction from the EEAS and the EP in this context.
- Gabriel Dupont, Journaliste
