US offers 10 million dollar reward for Russian election interference information

The US state department has offered a reward of up to 10 million dollars (£8.2 million) for information about Russian interference in American elections.

The reward, offered by the department’s Rewards for Justice programme, seeks information about the troll farm the Internet Research Agency, as well as Yevgeniy Prigozhin – a wealthy businessman whose ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin earned him the nickname “Putin Chef” – and other entities involved in interfering in the 2016 US election, won by Republican Donald Trump.

Prigozhin and 12 other Russians were indicted along with the Internet Research Agency in 2018 as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether Russia had coordinated with the Trump campaign to sway the election.

The defendants were accused of a huge but hidden social media trolling campaign aimed at sowing discord on controversial issues and at helping Mr Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Officials say Prigozhin provided funding for the agency through companies he controlled.

None of the defendants have faced trial in the United States.

In 2020, the justice department moved to drop charges against two Russian firms named in the indictment, saying it had concluded that a trial against a corporate defendant, with no presence in the US and no prospect of meaningful punishment even if convicted, would likely expose sensitive law enforcement tools and techniques.

The US state department described the reward as part of “wider efforts to ensure the security and integrity of our elections and protect against foreign interference in our elections”.