A close associate of Alexei Navalny announced Wednesday “February the continuation of his fight, affirming that the EU should respond to his imprisonment by targeting“
the money
”of Russian President Vladimir Poutin.
Read also: The Kremlin defends its "firmness" against pro-Navalny protesters
Leonid Volkov, an official with Navalny's organization, said he expected the opponent's imprisonment to increase the approval rating and the number of criticisms of the Kremlin despite the crackdown on protests.
Imprisonment was "
part of our strategy,
" Volkov said in a video interview.
Volkov, who also led Navalny's presidential campaign in 2018 and currently resides in Lithuania, said he is now in contact with European institutions and governments over possible new sanctions against Russia.
“
I am, so to speak, Navalny's foreign minister
,” Volkov said, “
The strategy should be to chase the money.
There is a lot of Putin's money in Europe,
”he said.
The answer "
should focus on that money."
Pursue that money, seize the assets of Putin's closest friends, allies, Putin's oligarchs
", he said.
Germany warned on Wednesday that Russia could face new EU sanctions for Navalny's detention.
Alexei Navalny has repeatedly accused Vladimir Putin of personal enrichment to the detriment of Russian taxpayers.
More recently, he claimed that a palace worth over € 1 billion was built for the Russian president by the oligarchs.
Russian prosecutors on Friday said he was put on a wanted list for allegedly encouraging young Russians to take part in the protests.
Navalny collaborators have been arrested across Russia in recent days in an attempt by authorities to quell anti-government protests that have brought thousands to the streets.
Volkov said he heads around 180 employees in 40 offices of the Navalny opposition movement across Russia and that preparations are still underway for the parliamentary elections in September.