EU Parliament fines MEP Tatjana Ždanoka accused of spying for Russia

Political & Legal SubversionPolitical ManipulationCreating/manipulating political movements

Aggressor

Summary

On April 10, 2024, the European Parliament fined Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka for spying for Russia after investigations linked her to the FSB; she was fined and barred from parliamentary representation roles.

On April 10, 2024, the European Parliament sanctioned Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka for breaching the Parliament's code of conduct after media reports accused her of spying for Russia. Investigative reports claimed Ždanoka worked for Russia's FSB for years, allegations she denies, calling herself an 'agent for peace.' The Latvian secret service launched a criminal case in March. The Parliament imposed a five-day fine amounting to €1,750 daily and banned her from certain representative roles until the mandate ends in July. Ždanoka, an MEP since 2004 and member of the Greens/EFA group until 2022, did not appeal the sanctions. The case ties to broader Russian influence scandals, including a Czech media outlet linked to Czech secret services and Russian propaganda.

Classification

Confidence: High

The event involves the European Parliament sanctioning a Latvian MEP accused of spying for Russia and working with the Russian FSB, indicating hostile aggressor activity related to political subversion and espionage. No defense preparations are described.

Source URL

https://politico.eu/article/european-parliament-fines-mep-tatjana-zdanoka-accused-spying-russia

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: admin_quick
Submitted: Feb 1, 2026, 00:14 UTC
Last updated: Nov 9, 2026, 01:13 UTC
Event time: Apr 10, 2024, 15:02 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "155a074b-686a-414e-a76a-ed85a8dcfd39",
  "url": "https://politico.eu/article/european-parliament-fines-mep-tatjana-zdanoka-accused-spying-russia",
  "source": "admin_quick",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Political & Legal Subversion",
  "subcategory": "Political Manipulation",
  "incident_type": "Creating/manipulating political movements",
  "country": "Latvia",
  "source_reliability": "C",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "Espionage",
    "Political Manipulation",
    "European Parliament",
    "Russia",
    "Latvia",
    "tatjana zdanoka"
  ],
  "nodes": [],
  "countries": [],
  "where_text": "Land",
  "headline": "EU Parliament fines MEP Tatjana Ždanoka accused of spying for Russia",
  "description": "On April 10, 2024, the European Parliament sanctioned Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka for breaching the Parliament's code of conduct after media reports accused her of spying for Russia. Investigative reports claimed Ždanoka worked for Russia's FSB for years, allegations she denies, calling herself an 'agent for peace.' The Latvian secret service launched a criminal case in March. The Parliament imposed a five-day fine amounting to €1,750 daily and banned her from certain representative roles until the mandate ends in July. Ždanoka, an MEP since 2004 and member of the Greens/EFA group until 2022, did not appeal the sanctions. The case ties to broader Russian influence scandals, including a Czech media outlet linked to Czech secret services and Russian propaganda.",
  "summary_short": "On April 10, 2024, the European Parliament fined Latvian MEP Tatjana Ždanoka for spying for Russia after investigations linked her to the FSB; she was fined and barred from parliamentary representation roles.",
  "summary_extended": null,
  "actor_primary": "Tatjana Ždanoka",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "European Parliament, Brussels",
  "location_region": null,
  "location_coordinates_lat": 56.879635,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 24.603189,
  "location_precision": "Approximate",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The event involves the European Parliament sanctioning a Latvian MEP accused of spying for Russia and working with the Russian FSB, indicating hostile aggressor activity related to political subversion and espionage. No defense preparations are described.",
  "event_time_utc": "2024-04-10T15:02:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": null,
  "event_time_confidence": "pm24h",
  "created_at": "2026-02-01T00:14:25.038Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T01:13:14.644Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "approximate",
  "time_precision_band": "within_24h",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "high",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: HighSingle sourceTime: Same dayLocation: Approximate

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Apr 10, 2024, 15:02 UTC

Event time confidence

pm24h

Location

European Parliament, Brussels

Primary actor

Tatjana Ždanoka

Country

Latvia

Tags

Espionage, Political Manipulation, European Parliament, Russia, Latvia, tatjana zdanoka

Loading signal...

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