Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Russian warblogger Roman Alekhin is at the centre of a major scandal after he was caught on video arranging a multimillion-dollar fraud and theft of aid to Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. Other warbloggers warn that it threatens to devastate volunteer fundraising. ⬇️

2/ A secretly recorded video, reported by , shows Alekhin explaining how he is going to launder a 200 million ($2.4 million) ruble donation from a businessman. He will buy 150 million worth of medical supplies for the troops from the same businessman.REN.TV

3/ At the same time, Alekhin will receive 50 million rubles ($600,000) as a "commission", while the troops will receive only three-quarters of the medical supplies that they were promised.

4/ He openly discusses forging the paperwork to conceal the details of the transaction: "What needs to be done is to ensure that our documents are clean from start to finish, so that when they come after the war, they can come to everyone..."

5/ "And it is important that it goes further, that it even goes all the way, so that according to the documents, everything is fine with us, we have signed. That is, there are no questions, everything is closed."

6/ He also implies that he is working with trustworthy commanders – he mentions the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade – who are presumably in on the scam.

7/ He boasts that "I will become an advisor to the governor. Here, number one after me will be the governor, standing in line. Then I can become a social technologist for all of Russia. I'm saying I'll be number one. That is, now I have a great position. I'm a public figure."

8/ "If anyone has any complaints about me, I owe them nothing. I don't owe anyone anything."

Alekhin is not only a very prominent warblogger but a high-profile fundraiser for so-called 'humanitarian aid' collections.

9/ The Russian war effort depends hugely on supplies and donations provided by volunteers. The army's ability to sustain itself in the field in Ukraine would be seriously threatened by a loss of 'humanitarian aid'.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1951588719544152070

10/ The news has prompted an explosion of denunciations, concern about the scandal's impact on voluntary fundraising and aid provision, and calls for him to atone with his own blood. 'Two Majors' writes:

11/ "Well, Roman. You have discredited the entire volunteer movement with your video. And us personally.

12/ "Whether you discussed this with the aim of reporting the author of the scheme to the police, or actually admitted that it is acceptable to break the law for the sake of helping the front/personal gain, is irrelevant."

13/ "The very fact that you discussed this topic with anyone and even allowed it to be brought up in conversation under any pretext means that you have discredited the volunteers on the front lines.

14/ "Do you think the other warbloggers weren't approached? They were, and they were harshly rebuffed at the first hint.

There's nothing to think about here. Merit is one thing, responsibility is another.

15/ "And there is a way to wash away this shame. This time, only in a normal way [i.e. going to fight in the front lines] ...

[A]fter this incident, it will be even more difficult for honest volunteers. Even for those who don't collect money."

16/ In a similar vein, Igor Gomolsky laments that "Whatever the case, the blow to the volunteer movement (its normal part) has been dealt a terrible blow." 'Soldier of Fortune' likewise calls it "a huge slap of shit on the reputation of all volunteers."

17/ 'Alex Carrier' comments: "Fuck, of course, Alekhin got caught red-handed. And, judging by the video recordings, the case will end with a slap on the wrist. Well, if he stole, then let him go to jail, there's no room for corporate solidarity here.

18/ "And so with the fees, it's hard to understand what's going on, and they are, in many ways, discredited. And then there are those who are smart enough to lay out their ingenious schemes on video, hehe."

19/ Sasha Kots highlights the damage that the scandal is likely to inflict on the Russian volunteer movement because of Alekhin's prominence as a fundraiser:

20/ "Regardless of whether there was the actual fact of fraud and official forgery or it didn't go beyond negotiations in the office, the video shows the head of a charity agreeing to a kickback as part of a scheme to help our fighters.

21/ "The Truth-teller", who claimed to be the moral tuning fork of the humanitarian movement, who exposed corrupt officials and tyrants, who wrote "I have the honour" under every post, agrees on video to commit forgery in order to earn money to help the front.

22/ "And there is no way to wash it off."

Other warbloggers note that there was an earlier scandal involving Alekhin's purchase of an expensive Chinese Zeekr 1 luxury car, which was rumoured to have been acquired using stolen donations.

23/ 'Yakemento' asks "were we wrong on the Solovyov Live channel when we said a year and two ago that "war bloggers" were an organized crime group robbing people during the war?

We were right. The proof is before us."

24/ Many warbloggers predict that the scandal will not only lead to a catastrophic drop in donations – which have already fallen sharply due to war-weariness – but increased scrutiny of volunteer fundraising by the authorities.

25/ PTSD TEAM Community comments: "I know for sure that the shadow will fall not only on those who collaborated with him in the blogosphere, but also on everyone who in one way or another is trying to help the front."

26/ 'Colonelcassad' predicts that "the topic of licensing private humanitarian aid and the topic of special accounts more closely monitored by the state will receive additional attention."

27/ "Earlier it was stated that the consideration of the law on humanitarian aid will most likely be sometime in the fall. Accordingly, the line on strengthening state control and regulation will also receive additional support."

28/ Anastasia Kashevarova fears that the scandal will give corrupt tax officials the opportunity to help themselves to volunteer funds:

29/ "In Alchevsk, the tax office knocked on the door of the admin of one of the public [channels] and added a percentage to his collections as income. And nothing can be done about it, and the same awaits other collectors."

30/ Nonetheless, she says, stricter regulation is genuinely needed to provide proper order and legal protection to the volunteer movement:

31/ "1. It is necessary to regulate volunteer activities. These are huge amounts of money that come not only from philanthropists, patrons, businessmen, but from ordinary people donating their hard-earned money to the front.

32/ "Special accounts and a special register are needed. This will ensure transparency of collections, but also protect the volunteers themselves from tax charges.

33/ "Also, those who are on the special register will be able to use free travel and other benefits. And all this will close the possibility of shady schemes.

34/ "2. To tell the truth, you need to have not only balls of steel, but also a crystal [clear] biography. That you yourself are pure and honest.

35/ "I think that the secret services are closely monitoring many bright bloggers / war correspondents / volunteers / journalists, and they do the right thing. I think they are keeping an eye on me too. The question is whether you have skeletons in the closet or not."

36/ Alekhin himself has offered little comment other than a plea for understanding:

"Friends, let me at least watch the video. So far I've learned everything from what journalists have said."

37/ "The first ones were Izvestia, who came to me during a staff meeting and told me about some video, and I spent about 2 hours answering their questions. There were already other people. I haven't seen the video yet. Wait. I'll explain everything.

38/ "By the way, you can ask questions in the comments. I'll answer them all. There's nothing to hide. The boors and haters will be banned." /end

Sources:
🔹 kp.ru/online/news/65…
🔹 t.me/dva_majors/791…
🔹 t.me/dva_majors/791…
🔹 t.me/AlexCarrier/13…

🔹 t.me/mash/67645
🔹 t.me/harry_homolsky…
🔹 t.me/yakemenko/19960
🔹 t.me/Soldieroffortu…
🔹 t.me/ptsr_team/13259
🔹 t.me/boris_rozhin/1…
🔹 t.me/akashevarova/8…
🔹 t.me/sashakots/56145
🔹 t.me/Alekhin_Telega…