Elena Khusyaynova is a Russian woman who has been charged with a conspiracy to interfere with the 2018 U.S. election, per a report by The Washington Post.
The 44-year-old woman was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States by the Justice Department.
Khusyaynova reportedly managed the finances of a foreign influence operation called “Project Lakhta,” which aimed to push arguments and misinformation online regarding a wide range of topics, from the Confederate flag to gun control to the national anthem protests in the NFL.
Here’s what you need to know.
Khusyaynova’s Operation Was Reportedly Funded by a Russian Oligarch
US files criminal charges against Russian citizen, Elena Khusyaynova, for conspiracy to interfere in US elections; her effort was (allegedly) funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin a.k.a. Putin’s chef
According to The Washington Post, Project Lakhta was funded by Yeveniy Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch. The costs of Project Lakhta (which were managed by Khusyaynova) included paying for advertisements on social media, paying activists, registering domain names, promoting news stories on social media, and more.
This was no small source of funding. Project Lakhta reportedly had a spending budget that exceeded $35 million from 2016 to 2018, though it’s unclear what portion of that was directed towards the U.S., specifically.
Khusyaynova Is the First to Be Charged With a Criminal Case of Russian Interference Regarding the 2018 Midterms
BREAKING: The Justice Department has brought its first criminal case over alleged Russian interference in the 2018 midterm elections.
Khusyaynova, who is based in St. Petersburg and is not currently in U.S. custody, is the first individual to be charged with Russian interference in the 2018 elections, per Politico.
Additionally, the Russian accountant works in a Russia-based firm called the “Internet Research Agency” that special counsel Robert Mueller indicted last February for alleged interference in the 2016 election.