Cato Podcast Debanked for Dissent: How Putin’s Reach Extends Abroad
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Jan 6, 2026 In this thought-provoking discussion, Anna Chekhovich, a Russian dissident and financial director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, shares her harrowing journey of being debanked in the U.S. after being labeled an extremist by the Kremlin. She outlines the challenges faced by activists in exile, including the use of Bitcoin as a lifeline, the relentless pressure from banks, and the alarming trend of transnational repression. Anna emphasizes how authoritarian regimes weaponize financial systems to silence critics, highlighting a pressing issue for dissidents worldwide.
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Scale Made The Foundation A Target
- The Anti-Corruption Foundation built a large grassroots political operation with nationwide offices and donors before state repression.
- That organizational scale made it a prime target for political and financial attacks by the Kremlin.
Bank Account Frozen With Phantom Balance
- Anna Chekhovich discovered her foundation's bank account showed a fabricated negative balance near minus 1 trillion rubles and learned it was 'under arrest.'
- The bank initially provided no legal explanation, revealing likely external pressure to freeze funds before any court action.
Switching To Bitcoin And New Entities
- After repeated arrests of fiat accounts, the foundation shifted savings into Bitcoin and created new legal entities to keep operating.
- Russian authorities repeatedly tracked and debanked successor entities and even targeted employees and family members' accounts.