More Stories from August
Catching up: August 22, 2024
Hello and welcome back to Moldova Matters! Today we’re going to complete our August catchup of stories and events that happened while I was traveling. This article will try and quickly go through the last few weeks events and get us caught up to the present day. Next week we’ll get back into the normal rhythm of things as Moldova wraps up the August vacation month.
Security and International Affairs
Here are the top security, Transnistria and international affairs stories of the past weeks:
Moldova arrests a suspected Russian spy in parliament. On July 31st SIS agents searched offices in parliament in a suspected case of high treason. Following the searches, the head of the Parliamentary Legal Department Secretariat, Ion Creanga, was arrested. Creanga, who was a parliamentary staffer, was accused of passing information to an employee of the Russian Embassy in exchange for money. Investigators say that his contact with the Russians began in 2023. Law enforcement officers also arrested a Border Police Officer from the airport who is accused of having meetings with the same Russian Embassy employee. Following the arrests, Moldova expelled Russian Military Attache Dmitry Kelov from the country. Previously, RFE/RL had reported that when Kelov lived in Moscow he resided in a building used to house GRU employees. Russian officials denied the accusations calling them “another manifestation of anti-Russian sentiment.”
Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region prompts Moldova to declare an “Alert” regime for gas supply. The warning concerns fighting near the Sudzha gas metering station through which most Russian gas bound for Europe passes. Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov stated that on August 6th the Ukrainian authorities warned Moldova that there is some risk of disruption to gas through the facility. Minister Parlicov explained that should there be a disruption to the Russian gas supply MoldGRES power plant could cease operations. He said that there is no urgent problem but that an alert regime would allow the Ministry to take emergency action if there is a cutoff. The Minister explained that gas supplies to the Transnistrian power plant could be resumed within 2 days of a cutoff if immediate action was taken, and that the gas in the pipeline itself would be sufficient to hold power production over for 2 days.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Chisinau on August 21st. This was the first visit of a German Chancellor in 12 years, almost to the day. During Scholz’s brief visit he met with Prime Minister Recean and President Sandu. No major announcements occurred and the trip was largely symbolic of Germany’s strong support for Moldova’s European aspirations. At a joint press conference with President Sandu Chancellor Scholz stressed this point saying:
"For us in Germany, one thing is clear: we must continue to support you on your European path. This expansion is in the interests of the European Union, Germany and Moldova,"
Spanish Newspaper El Pais reports that Moldova is secretly preparing for the full re-integration of Transnistria by 2038. The article says that the Moldovan government had covertly contracted an unnamed consulting firm to assist with reintegration plans and that the resulting multi-phase plan aimed for a “German style” reintegration. Prime Minister Recean denied the reporting saying that “The government has not signed a contract with any consulting company” and stating that all the work being done towards reintegration is open and transparent.
Politics
Here are the top politics stories of the past weeks:
PAS MP Iurie Păsat died suddenly on August 5th of anaphylactic shock caused by a wasp sting. The sitting Member of Parliament was only 52 years old and was the deputy chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture. Păsat’s seat in parliament will be taken by philologist Oleg Botnaru, number 87 on the PAS list. The death of Iurie Păsat resulted in a public outpouring of sympathy and this statement from the PAS PR team:
"We are deeply saddened to report the death of our colleague Iurie Pesat. He was a dedicated, hardworking and honest colleague. For many years, he worked for the benefit of society, including as the mayor of the village of Balchana,"
On July 30th the Chisinau City Council finally passed a budget. The passage is 7 months overdue and was supported by councilors from all parties in the final passage. The city’s 2024 budget plans spending of 7.7 billion lei, up 905 million from 2023 and includes a deficit of 647 million lei.
Prime Minister Recean has appointed Victoria Belous as the new Minister of Finance. Minister Belous began her career as a tax inspector in the State Tax Service (STS) and rose through the ranks to deputy director of the STS before being appointed minister.1
Igor Dodon has called for a “foreign agent’s law” modeled on the one introduced recently in Georgia. This law was in turn modeled on one introduced in Russia and used to crush civil society resistance to the Kremlin.
Fallout and reform after the assassination of Turkish gangster Izzet Eren. Following the assassination of Eren in July (Moldova Matters link) the government and security services have been evaluating the multiple failings of the asylum / extradition system which allowed dangerous criminals to live freely in Chisinau. This month parliament has approved amendments to the extradition procedure to align the allowable pre-trial / pre-extradition detention period to the time needed for the appeals process. This will allow the state to keep dangerous criminals locked up during their appeals and not be forced to let them go due to time limit expirations. Additionally, internal investigations by the Anti-Corruption Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were concluded and found systematic failures at the General Migration Inspectorate. This resulted in the dismissal of the Director of the Migration Inspectorate and his deputies, the Director of the Residence Supervision Department and the Director of the Department for Refugees and Stateless Persons. Two other people resigned.
Shor and Shor-Adjacent News
Here are the Shor and Shor-Adjacent stories of the past weeks:
Shor’s team attempted to register Victory (Pobeda) as a political block for the referendum campaign. Block “leader” Alexei Lungu stated that “The goal of the bloc is to take part in the referendum with the NO position, that is, against joining the EU.”2 The Central Election Commission (CEC) rejected the application of the 4 parties - Chance, Renaissance, Alternative Force for Salvation of Moldova and Victory - to align as a block based on a technicality. The block’s proposed name “Victory” is too similar to the name of the Victory Party (which is a member of the block) which the CEC says violates rules against confusing party names. The argument for this matryoshka reasoning is that the Victory Party could later leave the Victory Block resulting in general confusion.
Marina Tauber claims that she is being threatened and must consider leaving the country. The Shor Party leader, who is currently on trial but not under arrest, house arrest or under prohibitions from leaving the country (somehow), claimed that she was being threatened by anonymous users on Telegram - one going by the name “Mirotvorets.”3 Police responded to her claims saying that she had not reported anything to them but that she was free to leave the country (again - somehow). Following these statements by Tauber the Anti-Corruption Prosecutors office appealed to the court asking them to restrict her ability to leave the country. The court agreed and cited Tauber’s statements about leaving for an extended time (again, she is on trial right now) and her purchase of a plane ticket. She is now banned from leaving the country for 2 months.
Deschide reported that Ilan Shor is sponsoring pilgrimages of Moldovan priests to Moscow. In their investigation, posted on August 19th, they found that 24 priests as well as their spouses and children, 51 people in total, were set to fly to Moscow on August 20th on a trip sponsored by Shor. The priests would fly via Istanbul and be split into 3 smaller groups in order to avoid attention. They didn’t. The article assured that the groups were met at departures by Moldovan journalists though few priests commented. Subsequent reporting has showed that around 120 priests have gone on paid “pilgrimages” to Moscow where they are treated royally and provided with lavish food, drink and gifts. They are then given MIR payment cards from Promsvyazbank and promised provisions of around 1000 euros / month for “church repairs.” Journalists report that Shor is preparing this network of priests as agents in the Kremlin’s attempts to interfere in the Moldovan elections. Various Bishops implicated in the organization of these trips denied involvement and called the provision of bank cards a “lie.” The Metropolis of Moldova made an official statement condemning the trips saying:
"The Orthodox Church strongly condemns the participation of the clergy in politics or propaganda activities. The Metropolis will closely monitor this case and will take all necessary measures to prevent the involvement of clergy in political or election activities,"
SIS has blocked access to the Promsvyazbank website in Moldova. While they did not cite the pilgrimages in the reasoning, the decision came 1 day after the story broke. SIS says that the bank has been blocked because of its support for organized criminal groups affiliated with foreign intelligence services.
Crime and Corruption
Here are the Crime, Corruption and Law Enforcement stories of the past weeks:
Prosecutors have completed the investigation into the case of the kidnapping and murder of Anna-Maria. Suspect Gheorghe Cotorobai will be taken to court and tried, he faces life in prison.
The government is looking for a new building for the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s office… again. The search for a new office, which has pitted Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Dragalin against the government in increasingly public facebook spats, was thought to have been resolved. Previously, the government announced that the former General Prosecutor’s office would be turned over to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutors office. Government spokesman Daniel Voda confirmed the continuation of the saga explaining that the agencies already housed there will not be able to move as planned “as they use specialized equipment.”
Former Deputy Prime Minister Iurie Rosca has been sentenced to 6 years in prison on corruption charges. Rosca was once a hero of the pro-European, anti-Communist movement before switching sides and becoming the Deputy Prime Minister under Voronin’s Communist party in 2009. He was convicted of soliciting a $1 million dollar bribe from a business owner in exchange for influencing a judge in a case that could save the company. Prosecutors proved that he received at least $227,000 in payments. ZdG reported that Rosca left the country 2 days before he was sentenced - a claim that Rosca denied in a direct to camera video from an undisclosed location. Prosecutors noted that he is not allowed to leave the country but is free pending appeal (given that the first trial has been in court since 2018 he’s pretty much just a free man).4
Economics and Infrastructure
Here are the top economics and infrastructure stories of the past weeks:
The government’s MIA payment system has now launched for business. MIA allows companies to create QR codes which customers using MIA can scan and make direct payments to. The system is cheap for companies, averaging 0.8% commissions and fast with money being deposited in the company account in 10 seconds. This contrasts with VISA / MasterCard payments which incur fees of between 1.5% and 3.5% and can take up to a week to clear. MIA was previously launched this spring for peer to peer payments among individuals. It has been a success with widespread adoption due to the simplicity of being able to send people money using only their phone number.
The Ministry of Finance launched the long overdue EVMS platform. On evms.md anyone with a mobile signature can invest in government securities online - bypassing the previously complex system of banks and brokers. Government bonds with various interest rates and terms are on offer and the new budget policy for 2024 abolished taxes on income from government bonds. Moldova still has no secondary market for such securities so purchasers should expect to hold these bonds until maturity.
A scandal(?) with German-Japanese Automaker Sumitomo? Disgraced journalist and presidential candidate Natalia Morari accused the Competition Council of leveling a fine of 268 million lei against the company Sumitomo and then asking for a 400,000 euro bribe in order to “solve” the problem. She stated that the company invested 43 million euros in Moldova, primarily in their factory in Orhei and created 4000 jobs. According to the candidate these jobs are now at risk as the company considers leaving Moldova. Minister of Economy Dumitru Alaiba stated that he called the company following the allegations and that they are not planning on leaving Moldova. He called the story categorically false. Director of the Competition Council Alexei Ghertescu explained to journalists that there was no fine against Sumitomo but that an investigation found that the company overstated the value of a property by 268 million lei in a subsidy program and that this amount was reclassified as “state aid.” No fines were levied and the company was not required to repay any sums. Later, details emerged that the National Anti Corruption Center (CNA) opened an investigation looking into corruption at the Competition Council regarding their investigation into Sumitomo in 2022. That investigation is ongoing. At this point all parties involved are accusing the others of lying (except Sumitomo which is saying nothing) and Natalia Morari has said she is filing a libel suit against Minister Alaiba.
Moldova Railways is again 4 months overdue on salaries. The company has debts to employees totaling 130 million lei. Minister Spinu said that while they are behind 4 months “almost every month people receive their salaries” and that the company and government are looking for solutions in order to catch up.
Whew! That’s it for today. Thanks for making it to the end of another long email. We’ll have some more Journo Birds articles for you coming over the weekend and next week as well as a new podcast episode! Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
Author’s Analysis: As mentioned in the last Weekly Roundup (in late July) the business community watches the appointment of the government’s most powerful minister quite closely. Appointing career member of the STS clearly signals a focus on tax revenue and collection at the expense of an economic growth agenda. It also (likely) indicates that the window for major economic reforms before the next parliamentary election is closed.
Quick Note: it now seems clear that the Kremlin does not believe a boycott of the referendum is viable and is instructing its parties to actively campaign for a “No” vote.
The Mirotvorets website is based in Kyiv and publishes names and personal information of people they claim to be “enemies of Ukraine.” Ilan Shor, Marina Tauber and Bashkan Gutsul were previously included in their database.
Author’s Note: Rosca’s story is a sad and confusing one. Sad because he notoriously betrayed the hopes of an entire political generation when he betrayed his own party and movement to join the Communists. Confusing because Rosca has become… well… confusing. He has his own Substack these days with around 120 subscribers. There he writes articles and makes common cause with other people interested in as many conspiracy theories as he is - which is a LOT. Rosca is an anti-semite, anti-vaxer, peddler of various COVID conspiracies, anti-satanist (pro Jesus), anti-globalist, anti-LGBTQ, anti-EU, etc etc. He has his own little global network of lunes - many with far larger audiences than him. One of them, an American woman named Meryl, posted his (lunatic) article explaining why he is innocent of all the various charges on her substack with 40k+ subscribers. This resulted in one of the most “through the looking glass” comments I’ve ever read - enjoy:
"Thank you Meryl for informing us of Mr. Rosca's plight and for making it so easy to lend our support to him. I must say that sending out these haff [sic] dozen messages to leaders of a country that I have never even heard of has probably been the most worthwhile thing [sic] I have ever done on any Forth of July of my life. Thanks for your inspiration to join in your fight for truth, justice and freedom.
God be with you."
(emphasis mine)