A Murder in Madrid
He helped destabilize the West, but made his life there. And ultimately found his demise there.
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ALEX’S WEEKLY RANT!
You know you’ve lived a full life when we’re not sure if it was the Russian mafia or Ukrainian intelligence that killed you. The fact that it could be either, that you pissed off both sides enough that, yeah, we can totally imagine either side taking you out with five shots—the fifth in your head— in front of your children’s school in broad daylight, means you didn’t make many friends along the way.
Andriy Portnov, a Ukrainian lawyer with dirty ties in both Ukraine and Russia, met his demise May 21 in Spain, as he headed back to his car after dropping off his children at the American School of Madrid around 9:15 in the morning. Multiple gunmen (how many exactly is unclear) shot him five times before fleeing into a nearby wooded area. As of this writing, they remain at large.
Portnov was a close advisor to Viktor Yanukovich, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine who fled to Russia after the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine in 2014. Portnov was known to have influence over Ukraine’s judicial system under Yanukovich, making sure the “right” people got prosecuted and that judges arrived at the “correct” decisions. Generally, he made it difficult to hold corrupt officials accountable.
Of course, he was working for one, so that makes sense.
Connections to Agents of Russian Influence
While advising Yanukovich, Portnov crossed paths with Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager during the 2016 election: you know, the election in which Manafort passed internal campaign polling information to his buddy Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian intelligence agent. Yeah, that one. In fact, Manafort, before helping elect a pro-Russia candidate to the presidency in the United States, had previously helped elect one—Yanukovich—in Ukraine. Probably just a coincidence.
After helping elect Yanukovich, Manafort tapped Portnov to help tamp down criticism in the US about Yanukovich’s jailing of his political rival. Oh, the good old days when we criticized the idea of jailing your political opponent simply for political reasons, but wholly supported the idea of jailing politicians who were actually corrupt, like, for example, those who have been found guilty of 34 counts of felony.
Manafort did get convicted for crimes stemming from his work for Yanukovich. He was even sentenced to more than seven years in prison, but Trump pardoned him.
As for Portnov, he was sanctioned by the US in 2021. According to a Treasury announcement, “Widely known as a court fixer, Portnov was credibly accused of using his influence to buy access and decisions in Ukraine’s courts and undermining reform efforts. Portnov took steps to control the Ukrainian judiciary, influence associated legislation, sought to place loyal officials in senior judiciary positions, and purchase court decisions.”
Portnov was also part owner, along with Viktor Medvedchuk, of the Ukrainian TV channel NewsOne, which carried out destabilization activities inside Ukraine. Medvedchuk later was charged for treason in Ukraine and was later swapped, given to Russia in return for Ukrainian prisoners of war being held by Russia. Ukraine shut NewsOne down in 2021 for its anti-Ukrainian activities.
Reminder here that Medvedchuk also funded Voice of Europe, which has been accused of being a Russian influence operation with ties to Russian intelligence. Indeed, the platform allegedly was being used to pay European politicians who said the right Kremlin narratives and to give voice to those narratives. European officials shut that platform down. For more background, see this.
Much to my surprise, it took Europe until this week to sanction Medvedchuk and Voice of Europe.
So, a man who allegedly helped in Russia’s activities that aimed to destabilize democracies chose to live his life…in a democracy, and to send his children to an American school. It’s quite typical to see this hypocrisy: working to destroy the West, while enjoying all the benefits of the West. It’s a theme we’ve seen repeated ad nauseam.
Who Killed Portnov?
Given his “anti-Ukrainian” activities, it’s quite possible Ukrainian intelligence took justice into their own hands.
It’s also possible that organized crime (likely Russian) was involved, which, according to some reports, Spanish investigators are looking into. Portnov apparently got into some dirty real estate deals in Russia, possibly some connected to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Russian mafia has been suspected of other murders in Spain recently, including that of a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine.
Of course, it’s unlikely the Russian mafia would carry out such a task without blessing from above.
One last lesson here: Portnov (and others like him) like the rule of law in the West; it’s one of the benefits of democracy. He probably thought such rule of law would make it harder for covert operatives to take him out in broad daylight. That is, he felt safe in Spain. Alas, they found a way. Even in his death, he brought destabilization to a democracy.
THE WEEK’S LINKS
A roundup of things you should be reading
NEXT TO NORMAL
Systems are crumbling—but daily life continues. The dissonance is real. (The Guardian)
POLITICIZING INTELLIGENCE
Official Pushed to Rewrite Intelligence So It Could Not Be ‘Used Against’ Trump (New York Times)
EXCELLENT RESOURCES!
Just Security has launched WHAT JUST HAPPENED? as well as a litigation tracker to help readers keep up with the chaos
Alex Finley is a former officer of the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, where she served in West Africa and Europe. She writes and teaches about terrorism, disinformation / covert influence, and oligarch yachts. Her writing has appeared in Slate, Reductress, Funny or Die, POLITICO, The Center for Public Integrity, and other publications. She has spoken to the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, France24, and numerous other media outlets. She was also invited once to speak at Harvard, which she now tells everyone within the first ten seconds of meeting them. She is the author of the Victor Caro series, satirical novels about the CIA. Before joining the CIA, Alex was a journalist, covering Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the Department of Energy. She reported on issues related to national security, intelligence, and homeland security. Did she mention she was invited to speak at Harvard?
Scary shite! I am sure as history unravels the graft, grift and corruption of the Trump dicktatorship, there will be webs of intrigue involving members of Trumps inner/outer circle with equal stories of retribution. Some will be read with glee by victims of Trump’s crime spree and some will be read with a knowing nod of satisfaction that justice was done. Great writing.