Weekly Roundup

June 12 - June 18

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Elections Roundup

Media Bias Report

The Independent Press Association has done two studies looking at online media sites and popular television channels to see if there is bias in the election coverage. They discovered that of the 10 online sites they followed, 4 actively promote the Communists and Socialists and one promotes AUR even going so far as to openly tear down their opponents. Among the sites promoting the Socialists are the Russian state media sites such as Sputnik. The other 5 sites provided balanced coverage. In television media 3 out of 10 channels evaluated actively promote the Socialists and Shor parties. While none of this is new in Moldova’s only “partially independent” media landscape, it highlights the major obstacles for parties not aligned with Russia or with an oligarch in getting their message out. 

So How Many Polling Stations Will the Diaspora Have?

We still don’t know. This week the Central Election Commission (CEC) backtracked on opening polling places in parts of Transnistria that the government had no control over after the Security and Information Service (SIS) called this a threat to national security. Meanwhile, just about every party in the election other than the Socialists and Shor sued the CEC over their previous decision to dramatically limit the number of polling stations for the Diaspora. This week the Chisinau Court of Appeals has ruled against the CEC saying that there is no reason that they should not follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs and open 190 polling stations abroad. The CEC has countered saying that legally it must announce the number of stations 30 days before the election - a time period that has expired. But the court says that is no matter and they must open them anyway. Currently the CEC plans to meet Friday and make a decision on what to do next. President Sandu has said that she believes members of the CEC are being pressured by political leaders to suppress the vote.  A reference that can only refer to the Socialists as most of the CEC is associated by politics or family ties with their leader Igor Dodon. 

Out of the Coffin and onto the Playing Cards?

The PACE Party continued it’s wild election antics this week by distributing packs of playing cards with their candidates on them while campaigning. The leader of the party is the Ace of Diamonds which is itself an odd choice. American readers may remember the role playing cards played in the Iraq war where the US Army distributed playing cards with the most wanted members of the Iraqi regime. Given how international a story that was, it seems like a strange choice to put your own face on playing cards but perhaps the press it gains is worth it. Recall, the PACE party launched its campaign with the dramatic emergence of a young woman from a coffin after which she read poetry. 

COVID-19 Update

The COVID-19 numbers continue to be positive with a 7 day average of 48 new cases and 2 deaths. A wonderful milestone was achieved last Sunday when there were no deaths recorded from COVID for the first time in a year. Further, there were zero new cases in Chisinau as well which is now emerging into the “Green Zone” though that currently does not imply any changes in restrictions. 

The news of the vaccination situation is much more mixed however. This week Moldova set records for the number of vaccines given per day with 21,000 doses. However a closer look at the numbers shows a worrying trend, 18700 injections were the second dose and only 2400 people got a first dose. The Ministry of Health and other experts have announced their concern as the vaccination rate is definitely slowing down. They attribute this to good weather and low case rates but warn that if Moldovan’s don’t get vaccinated now the risk of a 3rd wave this fall is very high. 

Meanwhile, the vaccine supply continues to exceed demand. Mr. Dodon announced the arrival of 60,000 more doses of Sputnik V set to arrive today. Meanwhile, 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca are coming from Romania this week. President Sandu thanked Romania for “vaccinating Moldova,” a statement that we can honestly say is absolutely true. COVAX helped. Russia helped. But Romania delivered the vast majority of the doses that have made this mass vaccination campaign possible. 

Economic Update

Tax Breaks for Coming Home

President Sandu this week has proposed a bill that would allow for 0% import taxes on personal property for members of the diaspora who return home. It would apply to anyone who has lived abroad for 3 years or more and wants to return permanently with their belongings. Currently, personal items are subject to a raft of taxation and bureaucratic valuation procedures that largely discourage people from bringing anything into Moldova.  This step seems logical and quite smart to incentivize people moving home. But it also highlights the absurd import tax and customs situation in Moldova whereby you can get in quite a lot of hot water for simply having 2 cell phones. Since Moldova does not make phones, or cars, or computers it seems unnecessary to have high protectionist tariffs on all of these products and more. The idea that an iphone in the poorest country in Europe costs 30+% more than elsewhere is concerning. 

Corruption and Anti-Corruption Efforts

Bribes at the USEM Journalism Faculty 

This week, the dean of the Faculty of Journalism USEM University was arrested for soliciting a 3000 lei bribe from a student in order to approve their thesis. The police allege that the dean rejected the thesis and asked for 3000 lei in order to approve it. In order for money not to change hands the dean instructed the student to pay an installment on a loan she had for a new phone.  The anti corruption police CNA say that she was detained on a 72 hour arrest as charges are brought. The dean responded to the press saying that she was not in fact arrested and that there are witnesses showing her give the student 3000 lei in order that the student pay the dean’s loan. No reason for such a strange action was given. It has been reported that she was lying and was arrested as the CNA claimed but that the prosecutor immediately released her for “health reasons.” The CNA is now asking the university to suspend the dean as this drama plays out so that she cannot use her position to intimidate further witnesses. To date she has not been rearrested or suspended. 

The idea that the dean of the faculty of journalism is demanding bribes for grades does not speak well of the situation of corruption in universities in Moldova. The strange back and forth between the police and the prosecutors doesn’t either. We’ll keep an eye on this case to see if it develops from a petty bribe case into something more systemic at USEM. 

Vyacheslav Platon Acquitted in the Theft of the Billion

The General Prosecutor announced the acquittal of Mr. Platon on all charges in the Theft of the Billion this week. He said that the case was totally fabricated by Mr. Plahotniuc (not yet charged) and Mr. Shor (on the run). Commentators online were furious that a man so widely believed to be part of the scheme would be let off. Mr. Platon’s companies were known to be part of the bank fraud. A PAS Deputy remarked on the odd situation in Moldova where crimes happen but no one is ever held accountable. “Corruption without corrupt officials, theft without thieves. We live in such paradoxes.” 

At the same time, Mr. Platon will give evidence at the Parliamentary Commission investigating the Moldovan angles of the “Russian Laundromat,” a scheme whereby around 80 billion dollars from Russia was laundered through primarily Moldovan and Latvian banks. Platon’s appearance is at his own insistence backed by the Socialists and Shor commission members. The PAS and DA members of the commission reject the idea that he can possibly be helpful and expect he will only muddy the waters to protect himself. 

The “Hotel National” and a Fight in City Hall

This week, a major scandal in city hall has begun and shows no signs of ending. Hotel National, known to everyone in Chisinau as a terrible eye sore as you enter the city from the airport, has been abandoned since 2007. The hotel was state property until it was privatized in 2007 and in 2008 Mr. Plahotnuic took control of the company “Moldova Tur” that owned the property. In 2011 he sold it to Mr. Platon and in 2014, according to Mr. Platon, Plahotnuic stole it back in a forced sale. At that time, Mr. Shor was added as Plahotnuic’s partner. This familiar cast of characters may or may not still own the company as Moldova Tur and the hotel are now registered to a shell company in Belize. 

With that background, we get to this week. Deputy Mayor Victor Chironda announced that the city architect had illegally given permission for Moldova Tur to destroy the building and construct a 25 story residential and shopping complex on the site. The Deputy Mayor said that the application for this action was not approved twice previously because of serious issues in the plan. These included the fact that the proposed underground parking garage extended onto city land and conflicted with gas and water pipes. Additionally, the 1000 apartments and mall would only have 400 parking spaces total under the plan. The plans were approved while the Deputy Mayor was at home on sick leave recovering from COVID-19. On his return to the office he found that the City Architect had bypassed him illegally to approve the plan. Deputy Mayor Chironda called on Mayor Ion Ceban to investigate the City Architect and alleged that a corrupt scheme was going on in City Hall.

On Thursday, the Mayor summoned the Deputy Mayor to his office. Mr. Chironda announced afterwards that he went in full confidence that an investigation was being opened. He was right… but it was into him. The Mayor presented him with a 6 member special commission to investigate the recent absence from work of the Deputy Mayor. Mr. Chironda further stated that he was threatened with a prison sentence later that day but no one said what for. Mr. Chironda said on facebook “I am very sorry that instead of investigating the forgery and abuse of authority by Ms. Dogotaru [city Architect] and how this could harm the municipality, the mayor decided to investigate me for being sick with coronavirus.” Chironda has vowed not to resign and the special commission is due to deliver its findings on his sick leave next week. 

This is a rare public case of conflict about corruption within a government agency. Deputy Mayor Chironda ran for mayor against Mayor Ceban on a platform of urban renewal and joined the Mayor’s team after the election. They have worked closely for years but because they are not politically aligned it seems there was an opportunity for Mr. Chironda to speak out when he saw something improper. Given that Plahotnuic, Platon and Shor are all implicated we can imagine something quite improper is likely to be going on. Moldova needs more public servants willing to lose their jobs for such whistleblowing. Let’s hope Mr. Chironda doesn’t lose his. We’ll follow this story next week as it is sure to develop further. 

A Bad Week for Victims Rights

This week, an appeals court judge overturned prison sentences for 3 men who gang raped a minor. The rapists, who were 17 at the time of the crime, were originally sentenced to 7 years in prison. On appeal they were simply let go with something akin to parole. The case caused outrage across Moldova and is guaranteed to be appealed to the European Court for Human Rights ECHR. 

At the same time, a news outlet reported that a serial rapist, first arrested in 2005 and committing his most recent crime just this spring, has been consistently let out of jail after serving only a fraction of his sentence. Four times he has been arrested for rape or sexual assault and 4 times he has been let out early only to commit crimes again. These highly public case highlight the failures of Moldovan courts to take sexual assault and rape seriously and to both protect the public and consider the rights and trauma of the victims when passing sentence. 

Former Judge Ceaus Resurfaces

The former Ukrainian Judge Ceaus has released another “hostage video” claiming all is well and that all is going “according to plan.” As we discussed previously at Moldova Matters,  Judge Ceaus was kidnapped in broad daylight and whisked across the Ukrainian border by unknown assailants. This is not the first video he has released effectively telling his wife and lawyers to stop looking for him because he is simply on vacation or somesuch. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian press have reported this week that Moldovan authorities have identified all the kidnappers and will be releasing their names with international arrest warrants soon. The Ukrainian reporting claims that Ukrainian SBU (secret services) agents were among the kidnappers.  While we don’t know exactly what the Ukrainian press is reporting on, at the same time a Moldovan outlet received a leaked document from Moldova’s Security and Information Service (SIS) that implicates 29 Moldovan SIS agents as possible collaborators in this kidnapping. Meanwhile, the head of the commission of inquiry looking into the case has publicly stated that he believes the former judge is being held in a Ukrainian military base. Even before all the news of this week, several deputies in Parliament were demanding the resignation of the director of SIS and the director of the counterintelligence service within SIS over the scandal. We can imagine only more pressure will grow in the face of additional revelations that seem to implicate some manner of coordinated effort by the intelligence services of Ukraine and Moldova. 

Ending on a High Note!

Well, after that extremely long crime and corruption section we need a high note. A Moldovan photographer this week was chosen as among the top 100 in the world in 2020 for photos he submitted to a competition! It’s always nice to see Moldova appear on the world stage with an award and especially nice when a member of Moldova’s young and very vibrant art scene is recognized. Congratulations! 

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