Police raided the office of the media development organization Wednesday, confiscating financial and accounting documents. The raid sparked fears of a possible clampdown on foreign-connected NGOs ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections under a restrictive law adopted last year.
A criminal probe was launched in January after British national Jillian McCormack and Russia's Manana Aslamazyan were detained in a so-called "green channel" at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport with excessive undeclared cash on them.
Investigators said the women were carrying some $27,000, while Russian laws allows only up to $10,000 per person to be brought in undeclared.
Aslamazyan, who is facing a fine or up to five years in prison if convicted of smuggling, said police confiscated more than five boxes with documentation and computer files.
"We have no access to e-mail, and our Web site does not work either. We are trying to assess the damage and figure out what to do next," she said.
The law on NGOs prohibits such organizations from using foreign funds for political purposes. Foreign-funded NGOs were crucial players in 'color revolutions' in Georgia in 2003 and Ukraine in 2004.
