A Russian environmental group said it is returning a $159,000 donation from Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, along with other foreign donations. The Sakhalin Environment Watch, an organization working in Russia's Far East, said it cannot accept foreign donations because it was added to the NGO "foreign agent" list on Sept. 18, reported AFP.
The label carries espionage implications and is usually reserved for groups accused of being involved in politics and receiving foreign donations, according to The International Business Times.
"At the general meeting, the majority voted in favor of a decision to send back all the foreign funds that the organization has and to refuse to accept them in the future," said Sakhalin Environment Watch, one of Russia's oldest environmental groups, according to Russia's Tass news agency. "Today's morning these funds worth $159,000 were already sent back to the foundation and the organization has already sent the respective documents to the bank for returning the funds."
The group received the money from DiCaprio in July to help protect the Vostochny reserve on the Russian island of Sakhalin, located off the country's Pacific coast, according to Radio Free Europe. The reserve has been described by the foundation as "the most productive and undisturbed salmon ecosystem in the world."
Sakhalin Director Dmitry Lisitsyn disputed the foreign agent accusation, saying Monday, "We are appalled by this decision and will appeal it. We have never been involved in any political activity, have never planned to and never will," according to Interfax.
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation supports wildlife protection programs all over the world. In 2010, Russian President Vladimir Putin called DiCaprio a "real man" after he donated $1 million to help conserve the Russian tiger population, reports the Telegraph.
