German journalist Seipel, author of two books about Putin, received generous fees from Russia for them - investigation
They were paid by companies associated with oligarch Mordashov
German journalist, documentary filmmaker and writer Hubert Seipel, who is the author of a documentary and two bestselling books about Russian President Vladimir Putin, received hundreds of thousands of euros from offshore companies linked to Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov.
Source. This is stated in an investigation published by the Vazhnye Istori publication.
According to documents obtained by the journalists, in 2018, Seipel signed a "sponsorship agreement" that was supposed to bring him at least 600,000 euros. This amount was allocated for the creation and popularization of a book about the "political climate in Russia." The book in question was "Putin's Power. Why Does Europe Need Russia?" published in 2021 by the Hamburg publishing house Hoffmann und Campe.
The documents prepared for signing also contained a handwritten note "similar to the 2013 agreement: Putin's biography." In 2015, Seipel's book "Putin. The Logic of Power" was published in 2015.
The writer was sponsored by De Vere Worldwide Corporation from the British Virgin Islands. As journalists found out, it was registered to Igor Voskresensky, one of the directors of the Power Machines machine-building concern controlled by Mordashov. At the same time, the money for payments to Seipel came to De Vere Worldwide from offshore companies whose beneficiary was Mordashov.
In a conversation with Paper Trail Media, Seipel admitted that the books about Putin were sponsored by a Russian billionaire, but stressed that this fact did not discredit his work. According to the writer, the contract with De Vere Worldwide contained a clause stating that he had no obligations to the sponsor regarding the "composition and content of the book." In addition, as Seipel noted, the money was only used to support his book projects, not his film or social activities. At the same time, back in 2021, the writer categorically denied that he had received Russian money, as Vazhdennye Istory reminds us.
The Hoffmann und Campe publishing house said it was not aware of a possible conflict of interest. If the facts of third-party sponsorship are confirmed, it reserves the right to go to court, a representative of the publishing house said.
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