Earlier this year as part of his plea deal and legal proceedings, Julian Assange took a private jet (for security reasons) which he was obligated to pay for. As a short-term arrangement, the Australian government paid for the plane and other accommodations in a loan which was guaranteed by the German non-profit Wau Holland Stiftung (WHS), and the Free Assange Campaign launched several fundraisers which Stella Assange said would cover the costs. However, a new report reveals that the fundraisers have not covered the costs of the flight.
While amounts in reports have varied, documents have confirmed the plane’s cost as $777,592.84 AUD, and that WHS signed the loan agreement on June 16th, a week before Assange’s plea deal was finalized.
As of July 11th, WHS expected the Assange campaign to pay the cost of the plane, as they had raised over a million Euros for it at that point. The majority of this was raised through a Crowdfunder campaign and a single Bitcoin transaction which has been alternately attributed to Andrew Tate and Jack.
The Foundation believes that the binding assumption of costs (respectively
‘deed; bond’) with the Australian government, for the costs of the charter flight
on which Julian traveled from London via Bangkok and Saipan to Australia, will not be honored. The Assange campaign team has decided to collect separate donations for the flight and Julian’s recovery7 and has so far raised a total of around EUR 1 million. We therefore assume that the flight costs will not have to be paid by the Foundation.
Note on other fundraisers
These amounts don’t include more than £300,000 for legal costs, more than £260,000 for campaign costs, funds raised through PayPal and Stripe (amount undisclosed), funds raised through ActBlue (amount undisclosed), funds raised through the Australian Assange Campaign (amount undisclosed), funds raised through various other forms of cryptocurrency, or hundreds of thousands raised in previous crowdfunds, or other forms of donations.
However on July 16th, WHS received an invoice from the Australian government, giving them 30 days to pay it in full. Several days later, WHS received confirmation that payment had been received.
On December 22nd, WHS published a new transparency report revealing that despite their expectations, they had not been reimbursed by the Assange campaign for the costs of the flight.
The costs of the charter flight were paid by the WHS, which had made a binding guarantee (‘deed; bond’) with the Australian government. Contrary to the Foundation’s previous assessment, the costs of the flight have not been reimbursed by the Assange campaign team before this report was finalized.
The WHS report does not say if they still expect to be repaid by the Assange campaign, but a footnote adds that paying the costs falls within the intended scope of AssangeDAO funds donated by Pak.
The flight was necessary within the legal context of the «plea deal» after which a U.S. court in Saipan ended the extradition proceedings and released Julian Assange. The incurred costs are thus in accordance with the will of the donor (Pak)
It’s unclear why Wau Holland Stiftung has not been reimbursed for the costs of the flight as originally expected, or how the Free Assange Campaign has used the funds raised through Crowdfunder. The Bitcoin remains untouched, and as of publication has increased in value approximately 50% since it was received. This is not the first time the Assange Campaign has failed to pay expected expenses. Earlier this year, Craig Murray reported that the Assange Campaign declined to reimburse him for lobbying he did on Julian’s behalf with the Swiss NGO Justice For All International.
Requests for comment sent to Wau Holland Stiftung, Courage Foundation, representatives of the Assange campaign and members of the Assange family were not answered prior to publication.
