PayPal shuts down account of Russian activists seeking to publish anti-Kremlin report

PayPal says that it is unable to host accounts for activists in Russia

Protesters took to the streets in the days following Boris Nemtsov's murder (AFP)

PayPal has blocked an account set up to help Russian opposition activists to publish a report into the country’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Activists were raising money to print and distribute a report into Russia’s involvement in the conflict. But their account has been shut down and the group has been told to remove all of their funds, Radio Free Europe reported.

The report was begun by Boris Nemtsov, who was killed during its production, and claims that more than 200 Russian soldiers have been killed fighting in Ukraine, despite Russia’s claims not to be involved. The fundraising was being run by Russian opposition activist Vsevolod Chagayev and a group of others, who helped assemble the report after Nemtsov died.

It had received about 100,000 rubles, or $2,000, in donations before it was shut down this week.

The site says that it cannot allow any political parties to receive donations through the platform, because it would then need to verify the identity of the donors sending money.

“PayPal Russia does not currently allow any political parties or political causes in Russia to receive donations due to the complexity of complying with local rules which require validating the identity of donors,” a spokesperson for PayPal told The Independent. “We regret any disappointment this may cause our customers.”