Goulash: Pyramid Schemes and Poles to the Polls

FRESH FROM VSQUARE

RECYCLING COWBOYS: HOW RUSSIAN SCAMMERS BUILT A FINANCIAL PYRAMID OUT OF TRASH

What connects a GRU saboteur to a financial pyramid based in Poland? The man who sent explosive DHL parcels from Vilnius in July 2024—one of which detonated in a parcel truck near Warsaw—once served as a frontman for Recyclix, a Ponzi scheme created by Russians and registered in Poland. Recyclix turned out to be a testing ground for an even bigger fraud: the Juicy Fields scandal, in which the masterminds duped 550,000 people, mostly Europeans, out of €645 million. Who are the people behind Recyclix and Juicy Fields? What links them to the Kremlin? And how did stolen investor money end up funding a military drone factory near St. Petersburg? In the first part of investigation from FRONTSTORY.PL, Daniel Flis uncovers a reality as twisted as a con man’s alibi. The story leaps across continents—from posh banquets on the French Riviera to shady dealings in post-Soviet capitals. There are fake aristocrats, medical marijuana, private jets, and a guest appearance by none other than Polish President Andrzej Duda. Read the first part of the story here and the original version in Polish here.

MARIJUANA COWBOYS: THE MEDICAL WEED SCAM THAT SWEPT ACROSS EUROPE

The second part of the investigation explores the second financial pyramid, which moved from recycling to the lucrative medical marijuana industry. The FRONTSTORY team found the scheme’s protagonist in Lower Silesia. The German “count” at the front of Juicy Fields is investing in real estate, while the prosecutor’s office is trying to secure his many assets. Interpol’s “Operation Stoner” led the prosecutors to Maciejowiec to catch the culprits behind the Juicy Fields scheme. Founded by criminals from Russia during the pandemic, the scheme was initially registered in Germany, and later also in Switzerland, Portugal and the Netherlands. Follow the turbulent “war” of finger pointing between the Russian founders and the German count that led us all the way from Lubomierz in Poland to Caracas in Venezuela. Read the full story here (and the original Polish version here). 

CHINA’S TRANSNATIONAL HARASSMENT EXPOSED — WITH TIES TO HUNGARY

Imagine an elegant conference room in Geneva, where the United Nations Conference on Human Rights was taking place in February 2023. An organization based in Hungary—the Chinese-European Cultural, Art, and Sports Association—sent its president. Ma Wenjun, a Chinese man, came to the conference and was taking pictures of Tibetan representatives in exile or working in Geneva. Experts see this as a typical show of China’s attempts to silence the country’s critics. Our colleagues at Direkt36 reviewed the complaints of the Tibetan attendees and spoke to Wenjun himself. With an international team of investigative journalists, led by ICIJ, they reviewed government documents, police records, and confidential materials on Chinese attempts to interfere with their critics. Read the full story in English on Vsquare and in Hungarian on Direkt36.

RUSSIAN DUAL-USE PRODUCTS CONTRACTOR QUIETLY MOVES TO SLOVAKIA AMID WAR

A Russian company that presents itself as a reliable distributor of electronic components—and that has a history of supplying the Russian secret service (FSB)—moved its base to Slovakia. Though they did so after the start of full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to public records found by journalists at ICJK, they still supplied FSB even after moving to Slovakia. An analyst warns that this can pose a security risk for Slovakia, under the cover of a legitimate business. Find out more about the latest contracts of this mysterious company here (original version in Slovak).

POLAND’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN’S NOT-SO-GRANDE FINALE

With only a moment left before the period of electoral silence begins and Poles go to the… polls to vote for their next president, we are wrapping up the Polish campaign in place of the regular Spicy Scoops section.

The first round of the presidential race in Poland is set to take place on May 18, the same day as the second round of the turbulent elections in Romania. The favorite there is George Simion, leader of the nationalist AUR, who just made it into the Polish news, showing up in Zabrze, Southern Poland. Simion came there to show support at one of the final campaign events for Karol Nawrocki, the Law and Justice candidate and most probably the (second round) opponent to Rafał Trzaskowski, the Civic Coalition candidate. According to the latest polls in both countries, the races are neck-and-neck.

Simion is returning a favor: in late March, it was Mateusz Morawiecki, a former Polish prime minister and head of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), who visited and supported the AUR candidate. This mutual bond proves (again) the tightening cross-border cooperation between right-wing Law and Justice and far-right parties from Central Europe, offering anti-Ukrainian or openly pro-Russian stances. “Russia is happy,” Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, commented on Simion’s support to Nawrocki on X. However, it was Donald Trump most praised by both politicians, who are fans of the new US leadership and see the MAGA worldview as an appealing alternative to the EU and “the rotten West.”

Speaking of the Kremlin, the Polish campaign has been marked not only by domestic polarization, but by the visible and persistent fingerprints of Russian influence: from disinformation campaigns, to sabotage and cyber attacks, to amplification of the anti-Ukrainian or even openly pro-Russian candidates. Out of 13 registered, two candidates are openly pro-Russian (Grzegorz Braun, Maciej Maciak), while another four present anti-Ukrainian and anti-EU narratives. Sławomir Mentzen, the far-right Konfederacja candidate crafting his presidential campaign—mostly on TikTok—on an anti-Ukrainian message, is currently third in the polls. This marks a shift. Despite remaining clearly anti-Russian, Poles increasingly accept anti-Ukrainian narratives in the public sphere, which seems at least to some extent a result of long term Kremlin online influence operations.

Braun and Maciak are particularly concerning examples, using their campaigns to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda. Maciak, previously known in Poland only to the researchers investigating Russian narratives, managed to register more than 130K signatures and become an official candidate, getting access to the Polish public media. In presidential debates, he praised Vladimir Putin, reaching an audience of millions and simultaneously feeding the Belarusian and Russian propaganda machines. Meanwhile, Braun has continued his happenings of hate, tearing down a Ukrainian flag in Biała Podlaska or burning an EU flag in Katowice, to mention just two recent incidents, both of which were immediately amplified by Russian propaganda. As we found out, on May 6 alone, over a thousand posts about the flag burning in Katowice appeared on Telegram, portraying Braun as “defender of Polish sovereignty.” The videos showing Braun in action were also published by Russia Today account on X, despite sanctions, as revealed by the Alliance4Europe’s Saman Nazari.

For Braun, Telegram is the dominant medium. Despite his support in the polls not exceeding 2 percent, he is surprisingly the second-most frequently mentioned politician on the platform after Trzaskowski. However, Trzaskowski is criticized on Telegram, while most comments about Braun are positive.

Our Polish team at FRONTSTORY has closely observed the campaign online, especially on TikTok and Telegram, publishing weekly updates in our Polish newsletter. The first comprehensive report on FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) in the Polish elections was just published by a coalition of researchers at Alliance4Europe, Debunk.eu, ISD, DFRLab, and others. As the authors summarize, “Russia and Belarus are leveraging existing political fault lines in Poland concerning judicial reforms, human rights, migration, and civil rights. Foreign actors have used tactics such as, but not limited to, email leaks, the creation of fake news outlets, the weaponization of refugees, incapacitating online services, and the saturation of the digital sphere with polarised content.”

The increasing number of online incidents reported in the last weeks by Polish authorities, media, and researchers suggests that Russian influence campaigns are intensifying online as the campaign is drawing to a close, while—no surprise—social media platforms are slow to act. One of the emerging narratives centers on false claims about planned EU’s interference in Polish elections, amplified by pro-Russian accounts and far-right politicians (for example, Florian Philippot, who claimed that Brussels plans to cancel the results of the Polish election).

BREWING IN THE BOTTOM

Here’s a quick taste of what’s been brewing in Central Europe, brought to you with the help of VSquare’s Tamara Kaňuchová.

The blacklisting of civic society in Hungary begins. Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party submitted a bill “On the transparency of public life,” which would allow the infamous Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO) to label organizations as threats to national sovereignty. One of the ways to get blacklisted is to receive foreign funding, including EU grants. The listed organizations would lose donations from 1 percent of income tax and would have to prove that all their funding is local. The legislation would also allow authorities to conduct inspections and seize documents and devices. This is essentially a copy of the Kremlin’s “foreign agent” law and appears to be another step in the continuous crackdown against Hungary’s democracy. András Pethő, co-founder and director of our partner organization Direkt36, warns, “We woke up today in a country that resembles Russia more than a member of the EU”, adding, “the bill, if passed, will launch an unprecedentedly brutal attack on most of Hungary’s independent news outlets and civil society organizations.” We reported on unfolding Orban’s purge in previous editions of the Goulash (see here and here).

Hungarian spies caught in Transcarpathia, Ukraine. Viktor Orbán’s Russia-like activities target not only journalists and activists—they also creatively copy Kremlin espionage operations. As reported by Ukrainian media, for the first time, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) exposed an alleged network of Hungarian military intelligence, which carried out espionage activities in the Transcarpathian region. According to the SBU, they were tasked with collecting information about the vulnerabilities of military security, weapons, and the attitudes and potential reactions of local residents in case of Hungarian troops entering the region. The news of the arrests, followed by expulsions of diplomats, further stirred up tensions between Hungary and Ukraine. According to a Western intelligence official whom we asked about the case, there might be various scenarios for which Hungarian military intelligence has been planning: military partition of Transcarpathia in case of Ukraine losing the war; concessioned autonomy of the region in case of the change of power in Ukraine and installment of a pro-Russian government; escalation of tensions. All of which would be in-line with Kremlin interests.

Robert Fico was the only EU leader who travelled to Moscow for celebrations of the end of World War II. However, he had a day delay on his arrival, since the Baltic states refused to allow his government plane to fly through their airspace. Although Fico did not join the military parade, he had a meeting with Vladimir Putin and attended the ceremony honoring the unknown soldier, standing behind the Russian president. Robert Fico also met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping. For now, a last wave of protests took place in Slovakia to show public disagreement with Fico’s trip to Moscow. 

Slovakia has sunk in the latest World Press Freedom Index by nine places, getting its worst ranking in 15 years. With its current 38th place overall, Slovakia ranks 19th out of 27 countries in the EU. “In addition to political attacks, the government majority is already using the legal arsenal to weaken press freedom. The new index reflects the transformation of the political threats of the Robert Fico government into systematic abuse of the legal framework: by attempting to politically control the public broadcaster through the STVR Act or by weakening the Act on Free Access to Information,” said Pavol Szalai from Reporters Without Borders to our partners at ICJK.

Last week, Czech president Petr Pavel received a visit from Zelensky along with his wife Olena. Pavel secured 1.8 million pieces of ammunition for Ukraine by the end of the year through the Czech Republic’s ammunition initiative. As of April, the initiative, which is the result of a collaboration between 11 countries, has delivered 400 000 pieces of large-calibre ammunition. At the meetings, they discussed the situation with peace negotiations and post-war recovery, which the Czech Republic would be a part of. Pavel also said that he cannot currently deploy more troops before a peace agreement is reached, as reported by Radio Prague International.

ANO remains a leader in election polls ahead of the fall elections (30.7%, 11.5.2025). The main opponent on Andrej Babiš’s party is SPOLU, the coalition of ODS, TOP09, KDU-ČSL. The date of the elections is still unknown. President Pavel has to announce it at least 90 days ahead.

MORE FROM OUR PARTNERS

THE SAGA OF ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS CONCLUDES THE UPCOMING SATURDAY. Investigace.cz covered the elections and the impact of TikTok as a manipulation tool of far-right candidate Călin Georgescu. Now, their podcast Odposlech (in Czech) returns and discusses what’s new, right before the final race between far-right George Simion and liberal pro-EU Nicusor Dan.

ROMANIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE USES ORBÁN TO APPEAL TO HUNGARIAN ROMANIANS. Staying in Romania a bit longer, journalists at Atlatszo covered the paid ads used in the campaign of George Simion, which portrays Viktor Orbán’s speech where he said he agrees with Simion. The video is targeted to Transylvania, a region with the biggest proportion of Hungarian inhabitants (text in Hungarian). 

HUNGARY WILL TRANSPORT MILITARY GEAR WITH A CHINESE-OWNED RAILWAY COMPANY. The country’s Defence Procurement Agency awarded a 1.57 billion HUF contract to a Chinese entity. No technical details such as what will be transported to Hungary and other European countries, have been published. Read more about the actors in the deal and which friendships made it happen here (in English).

SLOVAKIA’S BLACK HAWK HELICOPTERS GETTING MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE. The Ministry of Defense paid 50 million euros immediately after signing the contract at the end of 2024. At the beginning of April 2025, the price increased by almost 100 million euros. The American company ACE Aeronautics was not in the registry of public sector partners, meaning signing the contract broke a law. The company belongs to the holding of Czech arms manufacturer Jaroslav Strnad. Read more on the deal without public procurement between Robert Kaliňák’s Defense Ministry and Strnad’s company here and here (in Slovak).

This was VSquare’s 42nd Goulash newsletter. We hope you gobbled it up. Come back soon for another serving. 

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