A Moscow-based technology initiative funded in part by the Russian government funneled tens of millions of dollars into the Clinton Foundation while Hillary Clinton was serving as secretary of state, according to a new report released Monday.
As President Obamaâs top diplomat, Clinton oversaw and facilitated the State Departmentâs failed five-year project to “reset” U.S.-Russia relations, which spurred the creation of Skolkovo, a research facility known as Russiaâs version of Silicon Valley, Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer wrote in a new report, titled “From Russia with Money.”
Yet 17 of the 28 American, European, and Russian companies that participated in the Skolkovo initiative were Clinton Foundation donors or sponsored speeches for former President Bill Clinton.
The amount of money given to the foundation from “key” Skolkovo partners ranges from $6.5 to $23.5 million, according to Clinton Foundation data. The foundation only discloses donations in ranges, making it difficult to track the exact amount.
John Chambers, the head of Cisco and member of the Skolkovo Foundation, for example, donated between $1 million to $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the report. Intel Corporationâformerly headed by Craig Barrett, who served on the board of the Skolkovo Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiativeâhas given between $250,000 and $500,000 to the Clinton foundation.
The FBI and U.S. Army determined that Skolkovo had transformed into a “dangerous pathway” for Russian technological espionage and boosted the militaryâs technological capabilities.
Many Skolkovo research projects used “dual-use” technologies, meaning the operations have both civilian and military uses, the report said.
Among Skolkovoâs technological innovations were Russian hypersonic cruise missile engines, radar surveillance equipment, and vehicles built to deliver airborne Russian troops, Schweizer wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
The FBI in 2014 issued “an extraordinary warning” to U.S. tech companies against involvement in the Skolkovo initiative. The agency concluded that the “true motives” of the Russian partners, who were backed by President Vladimir Putinâs government, were to obtain “classified, sensitive, and emerging technology from the companies.”
“The foundation may be a means for the Russian government to access our nationâs sensitive or classified research development facilities and dual-use technologies with military and commercial application,” Lucia Ziobro, the assistant special agent at the FBIâs Boston office, said in a statement.