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This text discusses Nathan Gill, a former MEP for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and later the Brexit Party, and his involvement in a bribery case linked to Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk and his associates.
Key points from the text include:
– Nathan Gill was elected as an MEP for UKIP in 2014, led UKIP in Wales, and was elected to the Welsh Parliament in 2016.
– He was active in the Brexit campaign and one of two MEPs to transfer from UKIP to the Brexit Party in 2019.
– Gill had a close working relationship with Ukrainian figure Oleg Voloshyn, who acted as a middleman in alleged bribery arrangements.
– Gill visited Ukraine multiple times in 2018, attending events linked to pro-Russian organizations and oligarch-connected TV channels (112 Ukraine and NewsOne) associated with Viktor Medvedchuk, a powerful Ukrainian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin.
– Prosecutors claim Gill received bribes, referred to euphemistically as “xmas gifts” and “post cards” in WhatsApp messages, to make specific speeches in the European Parliament defending Medvedchuk-linked TV channels and promoting a peace plan favorable to Russia.
– Gill coordinated making supportive statements and organizing meetings for Medvedchuk, including a high-profile 2019 meeting in the European Parliament where Medvedchuk presented a peace plan that included talks between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists.
– Other MEPs such as David Coburn, Jonathan Arnott, Rupert Lowe, and James Wells were involved peripherally or were asked to participate in this advocacy.
– Oleg Voloshyn is a co-defendant but has not been charged because he is outside the UK and claims no contact from UK police.
– Victor Medvedchuk later went directly to Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, who endorsed their peace plan.
The case illustrates the complexity of political influence, alleged corruption, and foreign interference involving European politicians, Ukraine, and Russia in the years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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