UMVA has learned that a conservative watchdog has lodged a formal complaint with the Missouri Attorney General, demanding an investigation into whether a prominent civil liberties organization and a political committee violated the state’s foreign‑influence ballot‑measure law.
Financial disclosures reveal that a Switzerland‑based foundation granted the civil liberties group a $2 million unrestricted award to be spent over two years beginning in 2025. Shortly after, campaign finance records show the group transferred $500,000 to Stop the Ban, a committee fighting a Missouri ballot measure that would prohibit most abortions.
Missouri joined a wave of GOP‑led states in 2025 that enacted statutes to block foreign money from entering their political arenas, spurred by revelations that Swiss billionaire‑linked funds had seeped into a major progressive nonprofit influencing state referendums.
The civil liberties organization insists it is aware of and compliant with the new law, but a federal court decision in 2025 affirmed that similar statutes forbid foreign‑funded nonprofits from donating to domestic groups that then support political committees, even when the money passes through a single intermediary.
The foundation providing the grant is chiefly financed by the wealth of a British billionaire whose family still occupies seats on its board, adding another layer of foreign connection to the funding trail.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the watchdog argues that the timing of the $500,000 donation—coming soon after the foreign grant—constitutes a clear breach of Missouri’s Foreign Influence in Ballot Measures Act, which took effect in August 2025.
In the complaint, the watchdog warns that the civil liberties foundation has become “a bastion of foreign money,” opening its coffers to Swiss‑based financing and the opaque influence that accompanies it, and accuses both the foundation and Stop the Ban of reckless disregard, if not willful evasion, of the law.
Missouri voters face a pivotal constitutional amendment on the 2026 ballot that would overturn the state’s 2024 abortion‑rights amendment, allowing lawmakers to restrict abortions while carving out narrow exceptions for rape, incest, medical emergencies, fetal anomalies, and banning gender‑transition procedures for minors.
Under state law, any organization contributing to a political committee like Stop the Ban must certify that it received less than $10,000 from prohibited sources in the four years preceding the contribution, with “prohibited sources” defined as foreign nationals seeking to sway ballot outcomes.
Stop the Ban itself is required to attest that it has not directly or indirectly accepted foreign money during its fundraising period, a claim now under scrutiny given the recent grant and subsequent donation.
The watchdog’s executive director expressed confidence that the attorney general will act swiftly, emphasizing that this case underscores why every state should enforce strict bans on foreign money in ballot campaigns.
