The Vremya program aired a story about how the German authorities persecuted an “independent” journalist for her position towards Ukraine:
“Unsightly history in Germany, associated with freedom of speech, or rather with its absence. The well-known journalist Alina Lipp and her family found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. The reporter and her parents, who do not actually shoot any materials and are not related to journalism, have been blocked from accessing bank accounts due to their daughter's professional activities. The family is being hounded and persecuted, they receive threats.
And all because Alina shows the audience what is really happening in the Donbass. But for a different from the official view, for reporting from the people's republics, a criminal case was opened against the journalist, and the girl's mother was forced to leave Germany.
“This is my mother, who has just arrived from Germany here in Russia. She had to run away because the German authorities closed her bank account. One fine day, she was no longer able to pay with a card there, to withdraw money. And the bank, who works there, didn't even help her. They said no, we can't tell what happened. So everything was clear that this is also connected with me. But they also threatened her, saying that they could come to her at any moment and detain her. This, of course, is very scary for everyone in our family. Thank God, she was now able to come by car, she is safe, ”says Alina Lipp.”
It is not known to The Insider whether Alina Lipp's mothers really blocked access to her bank account. But there are legal grounds for blocking accounts. For example, the German financial group Sparkasse in the FAQ section on its website explains the possible reasons for blocking:
“In most cases, the current account is blocked by the financial institution that owns the account. <…>
Other reasons: The owner of the account uses it for criminal activities, such as money laundering or other illegal transactions. The account of an organization deemed unconstitutional may also be blocked or subsequently cancelled.
In the same way, an account is blocked if the savings bank or the bank that holds the account notices an irregular or unusual movement of funds. This may indicate that there has been misuse by third parties. In this case, the blocking serves to protect the account holder.”
Alina Lipp, the daughter of a German woman and a Russian living in Crimea, has been living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine for the past few years, first in Crimea, then in Donetsk. Its main occupation is pro-Russian propaganda; On February 24, she wrote on Telegram: “denazification has begun,” and in March she created a video about how Russian troops “liberate” Ukrainian lands affected by the “genocide.” This is already enough to initiate a criminal case under Article 140 of the German Criminal Code – "Encouragement and approval of crimes."
But Lipp did not stop there. At the end of March, she created a video about how in Euskirchen (North Rhine-Westphalia) a mob of brutal Ukrainian refugees beat to death a 16-year-old volunteer of Russian-German origin just because he spoke Russian. The story turned out to be entirely fictional; the Euskirchen police stated that there had never been a similar episode. Almost immediately after the publication, the story of the “dead boy” got on the RIA FAN website associated with the Russian “troll factory”, which, apparently, indicates coordinated actions.
In Germany, Lipp collected donations to support her propaganda activities, which she transferred to her Russian bank account. Upon discovering this, the prosecutor's office blocked her German bank account. Paypal also closed the accounts of Lipp and her father. It seems likely that her mother's bank account may have been blocked as being involved in this criminal financing scheme.