MOSCOW: On Friday, the prosecutor general's office in Russia designated Bellingcat, a Western state-funded investigative organization, along with two other nonprofits, as an "undesirable organization." The designation effectively bans doing business in Russia and is expected to be formalized soon by the country's Ministry of Justice.

UK-based Bellingcat Ltd and Dutch subsidiary Bellingcat Stitching were both targets of prosecutors. Additionally, the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI), a non-profit organization with offices in Czechia and Latvia, was labeled as "undesirable". According to prosecutors, each group is a risk to Russia's "constitutional order and security". The designation required that all territorial chapters be closed and all assets held in Russia be frozen. Penalties for attempts to evade sanctions are both administrative and criminal.

Moscow has repeatedly targeted Bellingcat in recent months, subjecting the organization to a variety of sanctions. Russia had previously designated the group, led by British national Eliot Higgins, as "foreign agents" in October 2021, a designation that placed certain limits on its operations. The country's internet and media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, took additional action in March, when it blocked access to its website.

Bellingcat, a fact-checking and open-source intelligence investigation group that was founded in 2014, describes itself as a collaborative effort between professional and citizen journalists. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have all provided state funding for this.

The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, has accused Bellingcat of collaborating with US and British intelligence agencies. The group's sole purpose, according to Detective Boss, was "to put pressure on either the country [Russia], or individuals and entities."

"They employ unethical practices. Additionally, the information used in these situations is false, unreliable, and serves only their own purposes. They are willing to take any action because they are looking for money rather than objective consideration." are inspired by, Naryshkin claimed.
According to The Grayzone, the group has reportedly "accepted huge sums of money from Western intelligence contractors", while Mintpress News reported how it is financed by a CIA front organization and is made up of former spies and state intelligence agents.
Bellingcat has repeatedly attacked Russia in its reporting, attributing Moscow's involvement in various incidents involving Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over the Donbass in 2014, as well as the Syrian civil war and the alleged assassination of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Tried to settle. For the country's participation in those struggles. Leading Western media outlets have often emphasized the group's findings and routinely accept them at face value without mentioning its funding.
However, Moscow has repeatedly questioned Bellingcat's truth by contradicting the group's findings with its own data.

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