Networks of Deception: Russian propaganda, foreign interference, sanctions evasion, and the Canadian connection

Tenet Media, Roaming Millennial, and RT

Hello Insight Monitor subscribers! Welcome to another week of exciting illicit financing news and analysis. Today, we’re looking at the case of Tenet Media, Russian media outlet RT, influencers and foreign interference. This FI (and possibly sanctions evasion) case is fascinating and certainly something we’ll be following for some time to come. I’ve taken a few hours to read through the US indictment and chart the timeline of activities, key players, financial transactions, and corporate structures to the best of my ability. There’s some real nuggets in here, and I’ve visualized some of the information to make it clearer. I’ll endeavour to keep this analysis current as we get more information. As always, thanks for reading, and if you haven’t subscribed, please do! This is a reader-supported publication and one of the only ones in the world that covers illicit financing. Let’s get into it:

In early September, the US indicted two Russian nationals for money laundering and failure to register as foreign principals. The indictment accuses the Russians of setting up a conservative media outlet as a front for Russian propaganda.

The US considers this a form of foreign interference, stating that:

“While the views expressed in the videos are not uniform, the subject matter and content of the videos are often consistent with the Government of Russia's interest in amplifying U.S . domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Government of Russia interests, such as its ongoing war in Ukraine.”

The indictment claims that US Company-1, a Tennessee-based online content creation company, never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and directed by RT.¹ Russia uses RT to direct disinformation and propaganda at Western audiences. The indicted Russians are both citizens of Russia and employees of RT. There is no indication that the Russians are in the United States or have been arrested.

Tenet Media

The indictment refers to entities as “US Company 1”, “Canadian Company 1”, “Founder 1”, and “Founder 2” and indicates that these companies and founders have a significant connection to Canada. US Company 1 has been widely reported to be US-based Tenet Media. There’s compelling evidence that this is the case, and I recommend you review some of these sources to see that evidence. Journalist Aric Toler does a great job of linking the indictment to open information. You can review his thread here. Plenty of details match. For instance, the indictment says Founder 1 incorporated a US company in Tennessee on or about January 2022. This matches the date and location for the incorporation of Tenet Media, which was incorporated on 19 January 2022 under the name Roaming USA Corporation but changed to Tenet Media a few months later. The business was incorporated by Lauren Tam and Liam Donovan was later added as a registered agent (see corporate document below).

While not currently facing charges in the US, the indictment states that Founder 1 and Founder 2 (widely reported to be Canadians Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan) did not register as the agent of a foreign principal as required by law (the US FARA Act). This article focuses on the role of the Canadians in this foreign interference case.