Woman sentenced for using Kremlin money to fund treason suspect's defense

The Estonian Harju County Court has found Tatjana Sokolova guilty of violating international sanctions after she used Kremlin-linked funds to finance the legal defense of Andrey Andronov, who is on trial alongside treason suspect Aivo Peterson.

Sokolova was convicted in a plea bargain of breaching sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation and sentenced to one year and four months in prison. The court counted her time in pretrial detention from Dec. 16 last year to April 15 this year toward the sentence. The remaining part of the sentence was substituted with 360 hours of community service, to be completed within 16 months of the ruling entering into force.

During her community service, Sokolova must comply with supervision requirements, including refraining from contact with Russian Federation officials or anyone working on behalf of the Russian state.

In addition, the court confiscated 10,000 euros in cash seized from Sokolova when she crossed the Russian border. She was also ordered to pay 1,389 euros in procedural costs.

According to the charges, Sokolova was aware that the Foundation for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad, a Kremlin-linked organization, was on the EU sanctions list. Nevertheless, she allowed the fund to transfer money intended to cover Andronov's legal expenses to her various bank accounts in Russia. She then withdrew the money in cash, crossed the Russian-Estonian border with it, and delivered it to Andronov's defense attorneys Arina Liskmann-Getsu and Urmas Simon.

Prosecutors accuse Andronov of helping organize treason suspect Aivo Peterson's trip to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and arranging for Peterson to appear on Russian television to promote pro-Kremlin views.

Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern stressed that the European Union has imposed sanctions on Russian organizations deemed a threat to European security.

«Russia is a hostile state toward Europe and it is actively trying to divide Estonian society. Violating sanctions is a crime that supports Russia's aggression against Ukraine and endangers the security of both Estonia and the European Union. Today's court ruling confirms that using the assets of sanctioned entities for their intended purposes is prohibited and punishable,» Pern said.

Marta Tuul, spokesperson for the Internal Security Service (ISS), said that the case involves an attempt to interfere with the Estonian judicial system and proceedings.

«This was part of Russia's ongoing effort to interfere in Estonia's internal affairs, which the ISS successfully prevented. Cooperating with sanctioned entities will result in punishment,» Tuul said.

The Foundation for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad has been on the EU sanctions list since June 2023 by decision of the EU Council. The fund is financed by the Russian Federation and was established to serve the Russian government's foreign policy objectives, playing a key supporting role in promoting Russia's efforts to sow division abroad.