Mircea Geoană, the former deputy secretary general of NATO, has resorted to disinformation as part of his response to a journalistic investigation exposing links between a former key figure in his informal campaign and a Russian businessman.
The investigation that triggered a reaction by a former official was carried out by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Context.ro, an OCCRP member in Romania.
The investigation revealed that Rareş Mănescu, a former liberal mayor who worked for Geoană’s campaign for three months, had established a business partnership with Aleksei Kozlov, a Russian businessman closely linked to pro-Russian activities, particularly in Crimea.
Kozlov, who uses the pseudonym Alex Krepchinsky, published pro-Russian content on social media networks following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Kozlov has reportedly visited Crimea at least ten times since the annexation and has links to mercenaries who fought on the Russian side in the Donbas conflict.
While still at NATO, Geoană’s unofficial campaign activities were already underway, spearheaded by Mănescu. Emails obtained by investigative journalists show that Geoană’s presidential campaign was active as early as April 2024, despite his position at NATO at the time. These revelations have raised concerns about Geoană’s impartiality and whether his involvement in political activities while holding such an important NATO post was appropriate.
G4Media reported extensively on Geoană’s participation in what appeared to be campaign events disguised in other forms, further fueling suspicions about his conduct at NATO.
NATO did not respond to Context.ro‘s request for comment.
The scandal deepened on Thursday when Geoană responded to the investigation with a serious accusation against Romanian journalist Attila Biro, one of the authors of the investigative story published by Context.ro and OCCRP.
Geoană accused Biro of being involved in a plot to assassinate Ivan Geshev, Bulgaria’s former chief prosecutor. Geoană cited Bulgarian tabloid reports that had circulated false information about two alleged assassination attempts on Geshev in 2023, linking Biro to these events.
In an interview with Europa FM, Geoană’s spokesperson, Alina Achim-Inayeh, repeated the accusation, suggesting that Attila Biro was “no longer credible” because his name had been “linked” to the alleged assassination attempt. When confronted with the fact that these claims were based on disinformation, Achim-Inayeh stated that “it is not the job of Geoană’s team to prove whether the story is true or false”.
In response to these claims, Biro vehemently denied any involvement in the Bulgarian assassination plot, calling the allegations absurd and part of a wider disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting independent journalists. He explained that the theory of his involvement originated with several Bulgarian tabloids, which have a reputation for spreading fake news, particularly targeting journalists investigating organised crime.
Geoană also claimed that the “so-called international journalistic investigation” was financed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, after the Russian dissident shared the investigation on X, expressing shock at NATO’s lack of response.
Biro pointed out that Context.ro’s funding sources are transparent and publicly available, with the European Commission being one of the main financial supporters.
“This type of kompromat generated and directed from Moscow is a disinformation operation that is part of the hybrid war arsenal that the Russian Federation unleashes against the Western democracies,” Geoană said.
He called on Romanian state institutions and allied structures to thoroughly investigate what he described as an attempt to compromise a former NATO official.
Achim-Inayeh claimed that Khodorkovsky was playing Russia’s games.
“Any Russian dissident can be easily co-opted by the Kremlin. As a dissident, to live in London without being threatened with Novichok or falling from the balcony requires certain compromises,” Geoană’s spokesperson added.
Asked on Europa FM whether Khodorkovsky would be more credible if he were dead, she replied: “Cynically speaking, this is the way things work in Russia”.
(Catalina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)
Source: euractiv.com
