'Proekt' Investigative News Outlet Banned by Russia Closes Legal Entity

MOSCOW - Russian investigative news outlet “Proekt” on Friday said it was closing a U.S.-registered legal entity a day after authorities in Russia banned its activities but said it would find a way to continue its investigations into Russia’s elite.

Russian authorities declared “Proekt” an “undesirable” organization on national security grounds on Thursday and banned its activities, in the latest blow against media which investigate areas the authorities say are off-limits. The move was part of a wider crackdown ahead of September’s parliamentary election on media seen by the authorities as hostile and foreign backed. Proekt has published a series of deeply researched and unflattering investigations into Russia’s ruling elite. “The company Project Media, Inc., registered in the United States...is being liquidated and no longer has a financial relationship with any journalists working in Russia,” Proekt said in a statement posted to social media.