Russian religious foundations placed on sanction lists
On May 16, Ukraine’s President enacted the decision of the National Security Council to introduce sanctions against companies and individuals who are acting against Ukraine, reports RISU correspondent Dmytro Horyevoy.
In particular, the legal entities which are subject to sanctions include the Foundation of Basil the Great and the company “Marshal Capital”. Both organizations belong to Orthodox oligarch Konstantin Malofyeyev who financed militants in Donbas. It is the foundation that brought the “Magis’ Gifts” to Ukraine in 2014 and the security service employed Igor Girkin who by his own admission “pulled a trigger of war in Donbas.” Interestingly, under the guise of the holy relics, Malofyeyev and his team conducted the negotiations on annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea. The oligarch’s structures also sponsored the nationalist party of Marine Le Pen, who does not recognize the Crimea as Russian- occupied territory. The Malofyeyev’s companies got their assets temporarily blocked (for one year) and the right to use and dispose of their property was limited.
Similar restrictions were also imposed on the “Charity Foundation of St. Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow”, which in 2014 was actively engaged in collecting humanitarian aid to the terrorist organization of Donetsk People’s Republic. A draft of their cooperation agreement can be found on web.
The activities of “Charitable Foundation New Martyrs and Confessors of Christ” was also limited, which is registered at the address of St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra of the Russian Orthodox Church in St. Petersburg. In a public space, the foundation is known as Maria Tsypko claimed to be acting on its behalf, as a soldier's mother, volunteer and refugee who was spotted stealing “humanitarian aid” intended to be handed over the so-called “Luhansk / Donetsk People’s Republic.” Later the foundation’s leader denied Tsypko’s belonging to the organization. This foundation was also engaged in restoration of churches in Russia, legal support of the facilities subject to restitution. Interestingly, among the events held by the organization, its website indicated the cross procession in the Donbas with the “Icon of the Mother of God of Tihvin of the Militants” and participated in bringing the Magis’ Gifts. The Foundation also planned to set a chapel in Saur-Mohyla, seized by militants in the Donbas. This foundation’s assets were not only blocked, it was banned also any financial transactions, including the issuance of cash in Ukraine.
Among the list of entities subject to the sanctions was Valeriy Kaurov, head of the “Union of Orthodox Citizens of Ukraine,” acting against the territorial integrity of Ukraine. He appears in hacked mail of Kirill Frolov, who planned civil disobedience in Ukraine.
