My stance on the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s allegations against Leonid Nevzlin: They should be subject to an official police investigation, and if necessary, court proceedings. We are in democratic states with independent judiciaries, meaning we can presume the results will be fair and just.

Unfortunately, instead of taking the legal route, the ACF is waging a targeted campaign to discredit me. The ACF consistently creates a false impression that it has proof that I received verifiable information about the crime and concealed it from law enforcement bodies. This is not true.

The Dossier Center received a message about the existence of information about the crime on June 29, 2024. Correspondence aimed at clarifying the issue continued until July 9. During the correspondence, the Dossier Centre was unable to obtain evidence that would meet even the minimum requirements to be considered trustworthy. The information was impossible to verify, which, in combination with the manner in which it was provided, created the impression of a provocation.

In accordance with the legal approaches of European countries, the civic duty to report a crime lies with someone who bore direct witness to the crime or has evidence he or she considers to be trustworthy.

Acting strictly within the boundaries of European legal approaches, we suggested to the person who approached us – who, in his opinion, had such evidence – that he report the crime to the police. At the same time, we suggested to Leonid Nevzlin that, if he has evidence, he should also contact law enforcement. As far as we are aware, he did so on August 5, 2024.

On July 2, 2024, the Dossier Center informed law enforcement about the situation (the receipt of doubtful information about the crime, which may be a provocation or blackmail).

I believe all of our actions were carried out in full accordance with the law and ethical norms, and were the only correct course of action to take in this situation from a legal perspective.