Sources inside the UK’s counter-disinformation unit have confirmed an active investigation into a sprawling Kremlin-linked network designed to manufacture a favourable image of Vladimir Putin. The operation, codenamed “Project Velvet”, funnels illicit cash through shell companies in Cyprus and the City of London to produce glossy propaganda disguised as independent journalism.
Documents obtained by this newsroom show that at least three UK-registered firms have been receiving wire transfers from entities linked to a St Petersburg-based media holding. The money flows to production companies that churn out flattering documentaries and op-eds placed in reputable outlets. The wires are clean and executed through a London law firm whose name I cannot print because of pending litigation.
A former MI6 officer specialising in Russian disinformation told me this is the slickest operation they have seen in a decade. “They have professionalised the grey zone,” he said. “This isn’t crude troll farms. This is film crews, PR consultants, and lawyers who know exactly where the line is and dance on it.”
One of the UK firms, a corporate shell with a Mayfair address, lists its director as a 23-year-old economics graduate with a listed salary of zero. The company’s sole purpose appears to be channelling funds from a Seychelles trust to a production house in Riga. The trust’s beneficiary is a former Putin aide now living in Austria.
The timing is no accident. With the UK general election approaching, the disinformation unit has flagged this as a high-priority threat. A leaked internal memo warns that “Project Velvet” materials are being tailored to influence British voters by portraying Putin as a stabilising force in global affairs, especially on energy security. One draft script obtained by a source describes him as “the last guarantor of European stability”.
The Foreign Office declined to comment, citing operational security. But a senior source in the unit confirmed they are “on high alert” and have briefed media outlets to be wary of unsolicited video packages and opinion pieces that magically appear from new “independent” contributors.
The Kremlin press office called the allegations “baseless” and part of a “campaign of Russophobia”. But the documents tell a different story. Bank records show payments totalling £2.3 million from entities linked to a Russian state-owned bank into the UK shell companies since January. The money then moves to a production company whose founder was photographed in 2019 at an event hosted by a Putin-friendly oligarch in Moscow.
This is not a leak. This is a paper trail that leads to a front door in Belgravia. I have seen the signatures. I have traced the wires. The question now is not whether the operation exists, but how far up the chain of command it goes, and who in London is collecting the cheque.
The UK counter-disinformation unit has a history of moving quietly and ruthlessly. They took down a similar network last year that was pushing anti-vaccine content from St Petersburg. But this one is bigger. This one is aimed at the heart of British politics. And it is still active.
Watch this space. The next leak will come from inside the Treasury.
