Donors to a Polish organisation that reportedly called for the conservative government in Warsaw to be overthrown have Russian passports, even though the group denies ties with the Kremlin, according to a news website.

The Open Dialog Foundation, which "drew up a 16-point plan to overthrow the Polish government in the summer" and which says its aims include fighting Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia, has denied suggestions of ties and cooperation with the Kremlin, calling such allegations “false and harmful,” the wpolityce.pl online news service reported.

But wpolityce.pl says it has seen “the Russian passports” of some of the people who were the foundation’s biggest donors from 2012 to 2014.

Generous donors

Among the donors, wpolityce.pl listed names such as “Jewgieniowicz Agarkow,” who it said donated PLN 441,895 (some EUR 105,000, USD 124,000) to the Open Dialog Foundation in 2013 and 2014, and “Teneszew Maksim Matwijowicz,” who reportedly donated PLN 64,457 to the foundation in 2012.

The foundation’s donors also reportedly included “Władimir Iwanowicz Browczenko, former director of the ZSS Majak company based in Sevastopol," Crimea, who, according to wpolityce.pl, in 2013 supported the foundation with PLN 176,353.

Among those who “enjoy the trust of the Russian regime” and hold a Russian passport, are also the brother and mother of the foundation’s head, Ludmiła Kozłowska, wpolityce.pl said, adding that the Russian administration issued the passports to Peter Kozłowski and Sidonia Kozłowska after the annexation of Crimea in February 2014.

According to wpolityce.pl, “in the Russian passport system,” which is “strictly controlled” by the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor agency to the KGB, “there is no room for those who oppose Vladimir Putin's policies.”

The website also said that it is “surprising to see Russian passports in the hands of the family members of those who claim they aim to fight against the Russian regime.”

Ludmiła Kozłowska has denied her brother has “anything to do with Russia,” the website noted.

Earlier this year, Poland’s public broadcaster TVP reported that the Open Dialog Foundation, which says it seeks to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the post-Soviet region, has received funding from Russian businesses.

TVP cited commentators as saying that Russian security services may have been involved in supporting the foundation.

(gs/pk)

Source: wpolityce.pl