"WhatsApps show Oleg Voloshyn, a former pro-Russian member of the Ukraine parliament, discussing money apparently set aside for Coburn while he was bribing Gill. A document submitted by the Crown Prosecution Service to the Old Bailey last week for Gill's sentencing hearing includes a message from Voloshyn discussing a payment of $6,500 [about 5,000] for another MEP. Speaking outside his chateau in France, former Brexit Party and UKIP MEP Coburn answered "no" when a BBC journalist asked him whether he had ever been paid to give a speech to promote pro-Russian campaigners."
"The messages were sent on 3 April 2019, two months after Coburn joined the Brexit Party, now known as Reform UK. The CPS claims the conversation is about participation in a meeting of the "editorial board" of two pro-Russian TV channels in Ukraine called 112 Ukraine and NewsOne. Both were connected to Viktor Medvedchuk, a super-rich Ukrainian oligarch whose daughter has Putin as her godfather and who is a key and close Putin ally."
David Coburn is named in WhatsApp messages linked to an alleged pro‑Russian influence campaign in the European Parliament. The messages involve Oleg Voloshyn and disgraced former MEP Nathan Gill, who was convicted and jailed for taking bribes for pro‑Russia interviews and speeches. A CPS document for Gill's sentencing cites a Voloshyn message discussing a $6,500 payment for another MEP. The messages date from 3 April 2019, after Coburn joined the Brexit Party. The conversation reportedly concerned participation in an "editorial board" for two pro‑Russian Ukrainian TV channels connected to oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk. The BBC has not seen evidence that Coburn was offered or received money, and Coburn has denied being paid.
Read at www.bbc.com
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