EU FvD MEP Employee Properties Searched by Police on May 29
Forum for Democracy MEP Marcel de Graaff
Belgian and French police conducted raids on properties and an office associated with an FvD MEP employee of the European Parliament on May 29. The raids were prompted by evidence suggesting the individual’s significant involvement in disseminating Russian propaganda, according to the Belgian Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office.
FvD member De Graaff was booed in the European Parliament in March for a pro-Russian speech
FvD MEP Employee Properties Searched by Police
Detectives executed three raids targeting an employee of Forum for Democracy MEP Marcel de Graaff. The raids were conducted at a house and two offices belonging to Frenchman Guillaume P. in Brussels and Strasbourg.
The searches were carried out “in a file on interference, passive corruption and membership of a criminal organization.” According to a press release, the searches “relate to indications of Russian interference, in which (…) members of the European Parliament are said to have been approached and paid for the promotion of Russian propaganda.”
FvD MEP De Graaff Statement On Police Raids
FvD MEP De Graaff says on X that he himself has no involvement “in any kind of so-called Russian disinformation operation”.
Forum for Democracy awaits the results of the investigation. A spokesperson says he has no idea what facts the employee is suspected of. The party calls the timing of the raids, a week before the European elections, extremely remarkable.
FvD MEP Employee Guillaume Pradoura Version on RussiaGate
Guillaume Pradoura told Nieuwsuur he was unaware of the raids. In March, he denied receiving payments from Russia and likened the accusations against him to a “manhunt,” comparing it to “McCarthyism,” the 1950s US campaign against alleged communists. Guillaume Pradoura previously worked for Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National in France but was expelled in 2019 for a controversial photo. He also served as an assistant to Maximilian Krah, a German AfD MEP involved in a spy scandal and criticized for remarks about the SS.
Propaganda Network : RussiaGate
In March, Czechia revealed it had discovered a propaganda network using the website Voice of Europe to disseminate pro-Kremlin narratives and financially support Russian-friendly politicians within the EU. An investigation by the Czech outlet Denik N and Germany’s Spiegel indicated that this website paid politicians from several countries, including Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary, hundreds of thousands of euros. These payments were in exchange for their public opposition to military aid for Ukraine.
The raids are related to the revelations surrounding the pro-Russian news channel Voice of Europe. At the end of March, the Czech intelligence service announced that the medium is spreading Russian propaganda in Europe.
De Graaff’s name, among other things, was mentioned on Voice of Europe. In March, MEPs reacted indignantly when De Graaff gave a very pro-Russian story in the European Parliament.
FvD member De Graaff was booed in the European Parliament in March for a pro-Russian speech
De Graaff called reports about the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia “pure propaganda”. “Ukraine itself is the largest supplier of children for pedophile networks, human smuggling and organ trafficking.” He called for President Zelensky to be prosecuted.
