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Alex Finley Profile picture
Alex Finley
@alexzfinley
Former CIA officer. https://t.co/uiLwsXoPey #YachtWatch Author of the Victor Caro series: https://t.co/KSJTnmJ34m
.SWOOSH Profile picture Totty 💙💛 Profile picture 2 subscribed
Apr 22 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Petr Bystrom, a member of Germany's AfD party, allegedly caught on tape by Czech intel as he received money from the guy running the Voice of Europe Russian influence operation. 1/
spiegel.de/politik/deutsc… Bystrom can apparently be heard on the recording counting money and then asking that several staffers at the European Parliament receive payments too. Czech intel believes the op gave around 500,000 euros to pro-Kremlin politicians/staff in the EU. 2/
Dec 11, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Putin's trip to UAE last week was part of this. Dubai is a massive washing machine for Russian cash. Putin had to check in on that; he needs that cash to keep paying his proxies in Europe and the US (influencers, activists, politicians, journalists, etc.). 1/ Look at this, in Dubai, 67 villas sold in two minutes. And no name is necessary. It's all anonymous. That sound you hear? It's a washing machine! 2/ lefigaro.fr/conso/la-semai…
Oct 23, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Let's go! Finally, the US has launched a civil forfeiture complaint against AMADEA. #YachtWatch
The complaint alleges money laundering and sanctions evasion. The complaint also goes after IMPERIAL YACHTS and its CEO, Yevgeny KOCHMAN, for helping Russian oligarchs set up shell companies and hide their ownership of their yachts. Here is some background:
Sep 20, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Periodic reminder that the "corruption" narrative Republicans are trying to pin on Hunter Biden (and all the other Bidens somehow) was likely fully invented by Russian intelligence and given to a Ukrainian oligarch to feed to Rudy Giuliani. Here is some background, from @DNI, which found that Putin directed a disinformation campaign to link Biden to corruption in Ukraine and used Russian intel proxies to push the narrative with US media, high-profile advisers to Trump, and others. documentcloud.org/documents/2051…


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Sep 15, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
G. Kline Preston IV, listed here as 1 of 2 Americans who went to observe the sham election in occupied Ukr, is connected to convicted Russian spy Maria Butina. He introduced Russian Alexander Torshin to the NRA, which went on to give $30 million to Trump's campaign. 1/ Kline Preston the Fourth also served as an attorney for the Republican Party in Michigan, where he helped represent a case of alleged voter fraud there (as part of the effort to overturn the 2020 election) cc: @emptywheel 2/ supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/2…
Feb 20, 2023 • 17 tweets • 7 min read
Some great details in this @politico piece from @ErinBanco, including how Prigozhin and Wagner are playing integral roles in Putin's information warfare and how this will challenge US and European national security for years to come. 1/
politico.com/news/2023/02/1… As the article notes, Prigozhin's network (which includes much more than just Wagner) is playing a huge role in influence operations, combining covert and overt actions to achieve Russian objectives. 2/
Feb 15, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Another bit of #YachtWatch news: a yacht belonging to Teodoro Obiang the Younger, VP of Equatorial Guinea and son of its dictator, Teodoro Obiang the Elder, has been seized in South Africa. 1/
superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/equ… The yacht, BLUE SHADOW, is 67m long and was built in 1994. Not sure of its price, but it looks like it was available for charter for 180,000 euros a week 2/
yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter…
Feb 15, 2023 • 19 tweets • 8 min read
Fascinating investigation into influence mercenaries for hire. There are lots of stories from partner pubs, but the bottom line is: Team Jorge peddles disinfo and influence ops for money and has had its fingers in dozens of elections, but also other viral campaigns. A thread. 1/ First, I recommend this video from @guardian with @manisha_bot for a brief overview. 2/
theguardian.com/world/video/20…
Feb 13, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
Russia is planning to overthrow the government of Moldova. From @mitchprothero @VICE Time for a thread. 1/
vice.com/en/article/dy7… Does this sound familiar to anyone? 2/
Feb 5, 2023 • 32 tweets • 10 min read
This latest investigation from @OCCRP is a doozy. Strap in for a long thread on Russian influence operations. 1/ occrp.org/en/investigati… A Kremlin-linked lobbying group paid EU politicians and journalists thousands of euros to promote pro-Russia legislation in local and EU legislatures. 2/
Jan 24, 2023 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Quick update: the yacht captain who was arrested for helping Viktor Vekselberg evade sanctions involving his yacht TANGO has been released by Spanish authorities. The court took his passport and he has to check in every two weeks while they work out extradition #YachtWatch 1/ Here's the story from the local paper: 2/
cronicabalear.es/2023/puesto-en…
Jan 23, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Here's an interesting #YachtWatch tidbit:
Nautilus International, a union for those working in the maritime sector, helped recover a record amount of money for members for unpaid wages and benefits in 2022. 1/

nautilusint.org/en/news-insigh… The organization says the high amount is partially attributed to the number of people now working in the super yacht sector. But then there is also this: many crew members on Russian-owned yachts couldn't get their money. 2/
Jan 17, 2023 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Pro-Russia and pro-Wagner propaganda cartoon focusing on tossing the French out of West Africa. My favorite line is the guy yelling, "It's my country!" while shooting a French snake with the Russian looking on approvingly. A few thoughts:
1/ It fits the common Russian theme of blaming democracies for all the world's ills, while encouraging an autocratic partnership with Russia. But what is so funny about so many Russian influence ops is this notion that Russia is encouraging a country to be sovereign. 2/
Dec 7, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
A quick thread on this. We see quite a pattern: far-right groups and politicians aiming to overthrow a government and who are in contact with Russia. We've got the case today in Germany. 1/ Keep in mind, we've had plenty of reporting that the political party AfD (Alternative for Germany) has ties to Russia. Here's just one article, about them visiting eastern Ukraine (paid for by Russia). 2/ euractiv.com/section/politi…
Nov 4, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
A few thoughts I’ve already shared but I think are worth sharing again:
What is happening in Ukraine is the kinetic part of a much larger war. Putin’s war is a war on democratic institutions. Democracy anywhere is a threat to autocrats everywhere. 1/ That’s why Putin believes democracy cannot be allowed to flourish in Ukraine.

Additionally, Putin spent years and a lot of money on influence ops in order to destabilize democracies precisely so they would not unite to stop him. 2/
Oct 18, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Shot: Chaser:
Jun 2, 2022 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
This is great news. US has sanctioned Imperial Yachts and its owner, Evgeniy Kochman.

We are entering the phase when we will start to see the real purpose of these yachts. As I've been saying, it is not just about having a yacht as a status symbol. #YachtWatch 1/ The yachts and the management/service infrastructure around them help Putin's wallet. It's about corruption. In much the way Putin's "cellist" (also sanctioned today) helps launder money that can later be used for strategic spending (i.e. for Putin's agenda), 2/
Apr 14, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
US Department of Justice just indicted three Russians for attempting to illegally and covertly influence US policy toward Ukraine.

You guys are going to love my next book (coming soon!) 1/

justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/r… I know these things are not as sexy or eye-catching as assassinations and poisonings, but this type of influence op is the bread and butter of Putin's destabilization efforts. On the surface it might look benign. It is not. 2/
Apr 13, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Quick #YachtWatch update!

AMADEA, owned by sanctioned oligarch Suleiman Kerimov is in Fiji. According to the Fiji Times, authorities were aware she was coming, but so far there is little news about whether she will be resupplied. 1/ fijitimes.com/amadea-is-here… Oleg Deripaska's CLIO is pinging again, now in the Suez Canal, and is heading to Gocek, Turkey (same place where Abramovich's ECLISPE and SOLARIS are). 2/
Apr 12, 2022 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
Hello #YachtWatch -ers! Time for a quick summary of some news tidbits. First up: I got to see CRESCENT again. She hasn’t moved from Port Tarraco in Tarragona, Spain. And apparently her crew has not moved either. 1/ Image Indeed, the crew were hard at work keeping the yacht sparkling clean. I mean, look at that reflection. 2/ Image
Mar 28, 2022 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
This FT story is chock full o’ fun. It is not directly related to #YachtWatch, but my weird obsession w/ oligarch yachts grew out of my research into Russian influence operations. 1/
ft.com/content/bd74a5… It also provides a nice primer for my upcoming book (which is much funnier to read than anything the FT could write). Let’s dig in. 2/