Alexei Navalny claimed “corrupt officials” based in London were aiding Vladimir Putin in an unearthed interview.
The prominent critic of Vladimir Putin, who died in custody earlier this month, also criticised the West for doing “nothing at all” to curb the Russian president’s regime.
Sky News, which has just obtained the never-before-seen footage dating back to February 2020, claims the exchange is one of the last interviews where Navalny was in full health – he was poisoned with Novichok nerve agent six months later.
According to Sky News’ translation of the interview, Navalny said: “I am an optimist, I hope that this 20 years of Putin is not set in stone. We weren’t doomed to it, we weren’t meant to go in that direction.
“The entire Putin elite is absolutely corrupt and it is absolutely colonially-minded.
“They have moved all their families, their children, their assets to the West.”
He said the West “does nothing at all” to crack down on Putin and his associates around the globe.
He added: “Why do corrupt officials still live in London? Because these corrupt officials feed a huge number of wonderful London lawyers.
“These people, they will appear very civilised, we will be pleased to chat with them if they sit next to us, they will be wearing a tie and fine manners, and at the same time they are serving the interests of utter, complete bandits.”
He said the Russian elite “treat our country as a free hunting zone and that’s exactly how it works”, adding anyone who resists “faces the consequences quite quickly”.
Navalny himself was detained from January 2021, and spent the rest of his life in prison.
In the unearthed interview, Navalny also defended the general public in Russia, saying: “Russia is a European country. All the people who live here want to live like Europe.
“I hope that if 10 years from now, if you interview me again, I will be able to tell you how we overcome the corrupt money-laundering.”
Navalny died on February 16, 2024, according to Russia’s prison service, while serving a lengthy sentence in an Arctic penal colony.
The Russian officials claim he felt unwell on a walk, fell unconsciousness and never woke up.
The US announced more than 500 new sanctions against Moscow over both the ongoing Ukraine invasion and Navalny’s death.
The EU has also unveiled a range of new sanctions, while the UK has frozen the assets of six Russian prison bosses so those responsible for Navalny’s “brutal treatment” would be held accountable.