Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of Chechen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, was defended in court by lawyers with money from the Fund for Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots operating in Europe. It is controlled by Russian intelligence services. This was reported by The Guardian.

The fund, founded by decree of the Russian President in 2012, received support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Rossotrudnichestvo. Its leader was ex-employee of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Alexander Udaltsov, who is under EU sanctions. In Europe, the fund provided legal protection for exposed Russian agents and paid for pro-Russian propaganda.

Earlier, in an interview with American TV presenter Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to exchange The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich for Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov.

Former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili came to Germany in 2016 and received asylum. His murder took place on August 23, 2019 in Berlin's Little Tiergarten park. According to investigators, Krasikov (aka Sokolov) rode up to the victim on a bicycle and fired two shots. On the same day he was arrested and brought to justice. The media reported that the killer was an FSB officer.