Golos received money from Switzerland, Norway – Justice Ministry

(Interfax – MOSCOW. June 5, 2013) Rosfinmonitoring is monitoring the receipt by Russian NGOs of funding from abroad and reports to the Justice Ministry on a monthly basis, Justice Ministry official Tatyana Vagina said.

Rosfinmonitoring provides information to the Justice Ministry for internal use, Vagina said. “If an NGO does not provide information on funding received from abroad despite information on that, the Justice Ministry reacts appropriately,” she said.

The Basmanny District Magistrate on Tuesday tried an administrative case involving ROO Golos. According to the Justice Ministry, the regional organization received funding from abroad, but did not register as a foreign agent in compliance with the laws on NGOs.

“According to Rosfinmonitoring, ROO Golos received 675,000 rubles and 3.7 million rubles from Switzerland and Norway. Indications of political activities were found in the work of ROO Golos,” Vagina told the court.

Vagina said the ministry considers the development of a draft version of the new election code of Russia to constitute political activities.

The division of the association Golos, a regional public organization that has the same name, has to register as “a foreign agent,” Vagina said.

ROO Golos, in turn, said the association had to split into several organizations to avoid liquidation. “The association is not receiving any financing from abroad and ROO has money, but it does not engage in political activities,” a Golos official said.

ROO Golos has declined to fulfill the Justice Ministry requirements and does not admit its guilt of an administrative violation.

Similar claims were earlier made against the association Golos.