The alleged Russian intelligence officer Aleksey Stovbun, whose activities were uncovered in Latvia, also had ties to right-wing politicians in Italy and was involved in pro-Kremlin lobbying, as reported by LSM.
Stovbun was a coordinator of interaction between Russia and the far-right in Europe. Documents published as part of the investigation mention his connections with pro-Russian assets in Latvia, particularly with contacts under the code name "Financier."
Ukrainian political scientist Anton Shekhovtsov, who has been studying Russia's influence on European far-right groups for many years, stated that he obtained evidence of Stovbun's direct connection with the FSB. According to him, this data points to his role in organizing pro-Kremlin campaigns in Italy.
Earlier, Stovbun was involved in an investigation by Latvia's State Security Service (SSS), which was initiated last year. Among those arrested in the case was Latvian businessman Igor Bobirs, who is suspected of being the "Financier." However, no definitive confirmation of this has been found.
The investigation also revealed data about complaints from pro-Russian contacts regarding increased oversight by Latvian authorities over financial operations, particularly those linked to Russia. A report attributed to Stovbun claimed that the tightening of financial supervision measures was caused by U.S. influence on Latvian government structures.
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."
