The Prosecutor General’s Office has begun an investigation into Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Navalny reported on his personal website Wednesday.
In a letter addressed to FBK director Roman Rubanov, Deputy Prosecutor Boris Markov demanded that the FBK publish information on its sources of funding, expenditures, and cash flow statements for its accounts. Navalny posted a copy of the letter on his website.
“The sole source of FBK finances are the donations of Russian citizens. Several thousand people donated money to us, and it is directly reflected in all of our accounting,” Navalny said.
A report published on the FBK website says that the organization received 28.5 million rubles ($415,000) in 2014. The largest items of expenditure were 7.4 million rubles ($110,000) on office rent and 4.8 million rubles ($70,000) on wages.
An article published in the Washington Post newspaper on March 7, reporting the results of an FBK survey of attitudes in the Russian republics of Dagestan and Tatarstan toward Russian bombing in Syria, has been cited by the authorities as evidence of foreign financing, Navalny said on his website.
Police recently arrested a number of FBK employees, including Rubanov, who took part in protests outside the State Duma demanding the impeachment of President Vladimir Putin after the Panama leak, the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported.
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