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🔙 Let’s start with some backstory: In 2020, Spanish media reported on a secret meeting on the eve of Catalonia’s 2017 vote for independence between Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and a mysterious group of Russians.” There, it was reported that the Russians offered Puigdemont 10,000 armed troops to help the region break from Spain.
🕵️ What we revealed: In short, shocking new details about the Russian offer, how it was made — and by whom.
➡️ The Who: The Russians who visited Catalonia were led by Nikolai Sadovnikov, a former diplomat who reportedly claimed to have a direct line to Vladimir Putin. At least one Western intelligence agency called him “an actor of Russian parallel diplomacy.”
➡️ The How: Sadovnikov told Puigdemont that the Kremlin was willing to provide 10,000 armed troops and $500 billion to an independent Catalonia. In exchange, the Russian delegation requested that Catalonia pass legislation to become a global haven for cryptocurrency.
➡️ The Ongoing Convo: The Catalan and Russian groups stayed in touch for months after the meeting. We obtained hundreds of text messages exchanged between Sadovnikov’s translator and аn associate of Puigdemont. Messages included:
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Talk of a potential meeting between Putin and Puigdemont.
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A photo of a deposit certificate at the Union Bank of Switzerland worth an astonishing $500 billion. Although the Russians appear to have used this to show the Catalans they were serious, experts told us it’s clearly a fake.
🌐 The Big Picture: It’s unclear if the $500 billion offer was serious. But the Russian effort to cultivate relationships with Catalonian separatists does show that Moscow was very serious about trying to foment division in Spain.
Kremlin-watchers have long warned that President Vladimir Putin believes undermining European unity is in Russia’s interest.
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