Auckland: A New Zealand woman under police investigation for fundraising tens of thousands of dollars for the Russian army has left for Moscow. Antonina Ovchinnikova was under investigation by police after it emerged that she had been using the encrypted messaging service Telegram to raise money for volunteer Russian army units fighting as part of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Auckland-based Antonina Ovchinnikova has raised funds to send material to Russians fighting in the invasion of Ukraine. Credit:Stuff NZPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern had raised the prospect Ovchinnikova may have breached sanctions imposed by the New Zealand government, while others questioned whether the propaganda posts might breach laws prohibiting hate speech. Ovchinnikova had in recent days stopped posting on Telegram despite posting thousands of times since February.

Source: Stuff November 06, 2022 01:57 UTC