US alleges Russia funneled $300M to meddle in foreign elections

Russia has covertly sent at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in bids to gain influence, a declassified US intelligence assessment has alleged.

US intelligence "assesses that these are minimum figures and that Russia likely has transferred additional funds covertly in cases that have gone undetected," a senior administration official said on Tuesday.

"We think this is just the tip of the iceberg," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

In one of the most egregious cases cited in the new assessment, US intelligence said that the Russian ambassador in an unnamed Asian country provided millions of dollars to a presidential candidate.

The declassified assessment did not give details on specific countries. But an administration source familiar with the findings alleged that Russia spent around $500,000 to back Albania's center-right Democratic Party in the 2017 elections and also bankrolled parties or candidates in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Madagascar.

The source, who was not authorised to speak on the record, said that Russia has also used Brussels as a hub for foundations and other fronts that back far-right candidates and that Russia's embassy in Ecuador was sent "large amounts" of money from 2014 to 2017, apparently with a mission to swing elections.

Russia has at times sent cash but has also made use of crypto-currencies and "lavish" gifts, it said.

READ MORE: Biden: Putin will soon ‘pay a price’ for Russian interference in elections

Two-fold strategy

The official said the United States was also discussing the intelligence more broadly with more than 100 nations as part of President Joe Biden's "Summit of Democracies," an initiative he first promised in the 2020 campaign in which he defeated Donald Trump, who has refused to accept the results.

The Biden administration requested the assessment following Russia's February 24 attack on Ukraine, which prompted a major US effort to isolate Moscow and arm Kiev.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Russia's alleged election meddling "is also an assault on sovereignty."

The new assessment did not cover domestic US politics, but US intelligence previously said Moscow intervened in the 2016 election, notably through manipulation of social media, to support Trump, who has voiced admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asked if the US government was concerned ahead of November congressional elections, Price said, "Any attempt to meddle in our democratic system will be met with strong and stiff consequences."

A demarche, or internal statement, from the State Department to US missions around the world said that Russia had a two-fold strategy — boosting favoured candidates' fortunes but also gaining influence inside political parties.

"The hidden relationships between these parties and their Russian benefactors undermine the integrity of, and public faith in, democratic institutions," it said.

Russian officials have long scoffed at US allegations of meddling, noting that the CIA has a long history of backing coups in nations such as Iran and Chile.

Putin was said to be infuriated in 2011 when the United States voiced moral support for protesters around Russia who alleged election rigging.

READ MORE: 'Baseless': Russia says US provided no evidence of election meddling