soros
© AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta
A Spanish senator who faces corruption charges claims that he uncovered an NGO and lobbyist network in PACE that helps further the interests of George Soros. Non-government groups with unclear functions, human rights, claims of corruption and crisis in Catalonia - Sputnik delves into a possible European scandal.

Pedro Agramunt, a member of the Spanish People's Party, said that there's a whole lobbyist system working within the PACE, which caters to the interests of George Soros.

According to the senator's lawyers, one of the groups that brought up corruption accusations against Agramunt, the European Stability Initiative (ESI), is not just an NGO but also a lobbyist organization which is "listed in the lobbyist register of the European Commission and European Parliament."

Also, ESI head Gerald Knaus allegedly maintains ties with Nicholas Whyte, head of an organization called Independent Diplomacy which was previously contacted by Catalan authorities and asked to help the latter "internationalize the movement for Catalan independence."

Both ESI and Independent Diplomacy are funded by the Foundation to Promote an Open Society - an organization backed by George Soros.

Another pair of Agramunt's accusers, Russian nationals Yuri Dzhibladze and Olga Zakharova who founded an NGO called Civic Society Platform (CPS), is also allegedly connected both to Soros' money and the Catalan independence movement, the senator's team claims.

In October 2017 CSP apparently worked in Catalonia just as the region held its independence referendum, with both Dzhibladze and Zakharova being invited by the World Organization Against Torture - a group aided by Soros.

In Barcelona, Dzhibladze and Zakharova reportedly became acquainted with David Bondia, Catalan independence proponent and head of the Human Rights Institute of Catalonia which is affiliated with the Open Society Europe, a Soros-backed NGO.

As Senator Agramunt insists, the lobbyist network he uncovered "has orchestrated an international campaign aimed at discrediting and slandering my person through lies and falsehoods" and those same people "are activists who have been supporting the independence attack in Spain."

Previously George Soros has also been repeatedly blamed for providing financial backing to groups that oppose the UK's impending withdrawal from the European Union.

The billionaire has repeatedly used his Open Society Foundations NGO, to donate heaps of funds to Best for Brexit, in addition to other similar groups. He's been blamed for his attempts to interfere in democratic processes to suit his personal agenda and business interests.

He also was blamed for interfering in last month's Hungarian parliamentary elections, with Budapest claiming he had hired over 2,000 personnel to "meddle" in the election.