BARNAUL/ST. PETERSBURG, December 20. /TASS/. The family of Russian national Maria Butina, who in the United States is accused of conspiracy related to lobbying activities to help benefit Russia needs financial support to pay legal fees. At the moment the family has run out of money and the lawyers have agreed to work on credit, the young woman’s father, Valery Butin, has told TASS.

"Currently no financial support is available from any source. There is moral and diplomatic support - visits by diplomats and diplomatic notes and statements. Hired lawyers do provide legal support, but the financial resources to pay for their services have been exhausted. We still use the services of the same lawyers who have been in charge of the case all along. They may stop doing so in the process of preparations for the final court session, though," Butin said, adding that so far all organizations he had asked for material support had refused and the lawyers were working on credit.

The lawyer appointed by the court performs purely "nominal functions," Butin said. He also explained he could not afford to go to see his daughter in the United States. December 25 was the deadline for transferring another tranche to his lawyers, but no funds were available at the moment.

Maria Butina’s sister Marina has told TASS the family has no idea of how to go about the business of paying for the lawyers’ services and that he had no chance of contacting Maria for about a month due to communication problems.

"Risks are high the lawyers may refuse to conduct the case much longer. They’ve already told us they understand our problems, but they cannot work for free, the way they were doing lately," she said.

Earlier, the family created a special fund hoping to raise money to support Maria, but no donations are coming. The family, friends and relatives managed to collect a moderate sum to hire lawyers, but the money has been spent by now.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the traditional year-end news conference in Moscow on Thursday that Maria Butina had never received any instructions from the Russian authorities and that she was being forced into confessing to what she had never committed "under the influence of threats of being sent to jail for 12-15 years." Putin described her arrest as utterly groundless. He remarked that the Russian authorities were by no means indifferent towards the plight of Maria and other Russian citizens. He promised to keep an eye on the affair and provide support for Butina.

Butina case

On December 13, Butina faced the District of Columbia’s court to plead guilty to one of the charges concerning conspiracy with the aim of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Earlier, she concluded a plea deal with the attorney’s office. The court accepted her confession and scheduled the next hearing for February 12. No date when a verdict might be made public was announced at the attorney’s request. The attorney said Butina had agreed to cooperate with the investigation and the process might take some time.

Under the plea deal terms the defense lawyers must refrain from objecting to Butina’s current conditions under arrest until the sentence has been handed to her.

Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15 ahead of the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Helsinki. Butina, 30, was accused of conspiracy of conducting activities to the benefit of the Russian government in the territory of the United States. US special services claim that Butina had been conducting such activity without being registered as a foreign agent by the US Department of Justice.