The Money Behind the Message in Europe
As malign states exploit rising political turmoil in the EU and Ukraine, this project assesses the role of finance in political interference across Europe.
Political interference does not run on messages alone. It needs money: to build relationships, sustain proxies, buy access, reward loyalty and exploit economic dependence. Yet the financial infrastructure behind interference remains far less understood than the narratives it helps to spread.
Introduction
'The Money Behind the Message in Europe' project examines how hostile states and state-linked networks finance political interference, and how governments, financial institutions and civil society can respond.
The project has two connected workstreams.
- The EU workstream focuses on the actors, channels and warning signs of the financial dimension of political interference in the EU, tested through workshops with practitioners in Romania and Poland.
 - The Ukraine workstream will examine how Russian influence has been financed before and during the full-scale war, and where vulnerabilities may persist as the country moves towards reconstruction.
Together, these workstreams will connect financial evidence with the political relationships and behaviour it enables.
Project team
Kinga Redlowska
Head of CFS Europe
Centre for Finance and Security
Tom Keatinge
Director, CFS
Centre for Finance and Security
Oksana Ihnatenko
Researcher for project SMURF, CFS
Centre for Finance and Security
Olivia Allison
RUSI Associate Fellow, CFS
Cassian Maciejewski
CFS Project Officer/International Deployment Manager
Centre for Finance and Security
Shona Campbell
Programme Manager
Centre for Finance and Security
Supporting partners:
CFI
45North
Truth Hounds
Aims and objectives
The project examines how political interference is funded, who moves the money and where current responses fall short. Much of the policy debate focuses on disinformation and election security, while the financial arrangements behind these activities receive less attention. These may include covert payments, opaque investment, favourable contracts, commercial dependencies and funding channelled through intermediaries.
The research will examine the roles of state bodies, companies, wealthy individuals, professional advisers, political actors and criminal groups. It will also consider why relevant information is often scattered across financial intelligence, company records, political finance data and national security reporting.
Drawing on case studies, interviews and workshops, the project will identify common methods, warning signs and gaps in existing responses. It will also maintain a clear distinction between legitimate foreign investment or political engagement and interference involving concealment, deception, coercion, corruption or attempts to evade domestic rules.
Alongside expert workshops across the EU and in Kyiv, the project will host a capstone conference, 'Money Behind the Message: Financing Political Interference', in Brussels in 2027, bringing together policymakers, practitioners and researchers to launch the findings from both workstreams, raise awareness of the issue, and discuss how EU and Ukrainian responses can be strengthened.