Famous German Journalist Received 600,000 Euros from Putin Ally

Leading Western journalist Hubert Seipel, considered one of Germany's best independent experts on Russia, received about 600,000 euros from Kremlin-associated oligarchs for writing complimentary books about Vladimir Putin. 

This was reported by The Guardian, citing data from leaked documents from Cypriot companies.

The disclosed documents indicate that German journalist, filmmaker, and writer Hubert Seipel received financial tranches, presumably for working on two books in which he describes Putin's rise to power and openly expresses sympathy for him. Specifically, this concerns the 2015 biography called "Putin: Inner Views of Power" and the 2021 book "Putin's Power: Why Europe Needs Russia."

Hubert Seipel did not confirm the information about receiving 600,000 euros and emphasized his impartiality. However, the journalist acknowledged that he did receive support from Russian oligarch Mordashov and noted that this assistance "related exclusively to book projects."

Among the files provided to journalists, an agreement called the "Sponsorship Agreement" was found, signed in March 2018 between Seipel and the director of De Vere Worldwide Corp. The ultimate owner of this Company is Alexey Mordashov, who in February 2022 fell under European sanctions for his proximity to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the same documents, the payment of 600,000 euros is indicated as "sponsorship assistance" for a book Seipel already seems to have been planning to write, and for which he already had a publishing contract. The agreement separately states that the sponsor undertakes to "support the development of this project" and "make this political and historical development accessible to a wide audience."

Recall that earlier The Gaze reported that Canada adopted a resolution aimed at intensifying the fight against Russian propaganda and fakes worldwide, including the spread of disinformation about the genocidal war Russia is waging in Ukraine.

At the same time, in September, it became known that the easing of security measures on Elon Musk's social network directly contributes to the spread of Russian fakes. Recall that Elon Musk has repeatedly expressed his support for Putin, including at the Aspen conference when Musk took the stage and said, "We need to negotiate. Putin wants peace - we must negotiate with him peacefully."

Also in September, the US Senate Armed Services Committee investigated national security issues related to Elon Musk's decision not to expand the private Starlink satellite network to help Ukraine resist Russian military ships near the coast of Crimea. At that time, SpaceX threatened to cut off access if the Pentagon did not pay for the services in Ukraine.