Weekly Roundup: Shor Travels to Russia
February 9, 2024
Security and Transnistria News
This week Ukraine’s ambassador to Moldova, Marko Shevchenko, confirmed a violent incident on the border between the Transnistrian region and Ukraine that was previously reported by the Transnistrian “authorities” in January. In an interview the ambassador stated:
“In early January, an incident occurred when two Pridnestrovians [Transnistrians], one a “border guard” and the other a civilian, but I assume that he is not a civilian, but simply dressed in civilian clothes, crossed the border to discuss something with a Ukrainian border guard. Ukrainian law enforcement officers were waiting for them because these two Pridnestrovians were organizing illegal migration. (...)
One of the Transnistrian citizens was killed and another was wounded. Now he is in the hospital,
Previously, the Transnistrian security services had reported this event as an “incident involving the use of firearms” which took place on January 7th. At that time the Moldovan authorities denied the story saying that they had no official confirmation of the event. Following the Ukrainian Ambassador’s statements the Ministry of Internal affairs confirmed the story. Moldova’s chief of the national police Viorel Cernauteanu made a statement on the situation saying:
“The incident occurred on the territory of Ukraine, so the investigation of the case should be carried out by a neighboring country. If this option is not shared by representatives of Tiraspol, the National Police is ready to go to the reported crime scene to conduct an investigation ,”
“ At the same time, if we are asked, we will also provide assistance to the Ukrainians in clarifying all the circumstances,”
At this time it remains unclear what actually happened on January 7th. From the statements made it appears that 2 Transnistrians who were engaged in “illegal migration” (aka smuggling Ukrainian men fleeing mobilization across the border) approached Ukrainian border guards. Ukraine alleges that one of these men then took out a pistol and shot at the guards who returned fire killing one man and wounding the other. There have been contradictory reports of where the injured man is being held in hospital but Transnistrian authorities have repeatedly stated that he is in Ukraine.
Scandals with Fulger Special Forces
In other security news, this week the police announced that 3200 rounds of ammunition went missing from Fulger (“Lightning”) police special forces storage. The ammunition was manufactured in 1985 and has been in storage since the Transnistrian War but was recently transferred to Fulger in 2022. The rounds were nearing expiration and Fulger decided to use it all for target practice, but once they opened the storage box they found the bullets had been replaced with rocks and sand.
Fulger came under additional scrutiny this week as the National Integrity Authority (ANI) released a report showing a gap of 291,000 lei between the Fulger Commander Ion Bukliš’ income and expenses. The report shows that the commander acquired multiple properties over the last 3 years and received large cash gifts. His family also sold a network of car washes for 40,000 euros and failed to report the sale. The case will likely be appealed in court but could result in the commander losing the right to hold public office for 3 years.
Political News
Here’s a rapid fire roundup of the top political news stories of the week:
Cristina Gherasimov was officially sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of European Affairs. The new minister immediately set out for meetings in Brussels where she discussed the start of legislative “screening” with the EU. In the screening process all Moldovan legislation will be evaluated for compliance with EU legislation.
Mayor Ceban has begun running anti-PAS video and audio messages on Chisinau trolleybuses. The messages attack the central government in what is becoming an escalating war of words with the city. Mayor Ceban continues to make demands for a substantially higher portion of taxes collected from Chisinau. Police have begun an investigation into the messages, which could be considered the use of administrative resources for political purposes. Responding to the news government spokesman Daniel Voda stated:
"Indeed, aggressive messages from the Chisinau mayor’s office are heard on public transport, and I myself heard them last night when I was driving home. […] I regret that the capital’s trolleybuses are used to broadcast messages that are not really of public interest"
President Sandu announced that she will donate her 30,000 euro cash award. The money, awarded to the president when she was given the “Timisoara Award for European Values” has caused controversy and much speculation - something we wrote about in January. President Sandu stated that she has not yet received the money but will donate it to a local charity when she does. She also called out the political mess that this all caused noting that she received a cash award from a Norwegian group last year and donated it to an NGO dealing with children's health - all without much public comment. The president blamed Russian information attacks and the political climate of the election year for all the attention that this prize received. It is important to note that none of the controversy came from the prize itself but from the speculation of where the money would go. Undoubtedly, the president’s choice not to announce a donation until now has created unnecessary political pain for her administration.
President Sandu held consultations with the leaders of political parties on the upcoming EU referendum. This follows a series of public consultations that the president has held with civil society representatives. All major political parties in Moldova were invited to the meeting and the leaders of 14 parties attended. Igor Dodon of the Socialists and Ion Chicu of PDCM notably boycotted and put out statements attacking Sandu, PAS and European integration. Of those who attended all party leaders expressed support for the referendum and the country’s European direction. At the same time nearly all attendees objected to the holding of the election on the same day as the presidential elections calling this a political move designed to support the president. Following the meeting the president released a statement saying:
" 14 party leaders came to the presidency today. They all said they support Moldova's accession to the EU, even if everyone has their own questions about risks and processes. Dodon and Chicu have not arrived yet. They were shouting in the past that a referendum was needed for accession. Now they changed their mind, seeing that Moldovans are ready to vote for this civilizational choice - Moldova in the European Union. Our goal is to unite the whole society to ensure a future in peace and prosperity for all Moldovans, regardless of their political ideology. However, it can be seen that some have something else on their agenda "
Ilan Shor and the Shor Party
This week Ilan Shor left Israel and traveled to Russia. The head of Interpol Moldova announced that he left Israel on February 1st using his Israeli passport but that Israeli authorities refused to provide additional information.
Later Shor arrived in Russia and met publicly with the Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov. Following the meeting Shor stated that "We mutually expressed our views on the main issue for Moldova — who are friends and who are enemies.”
Shor additionally made statements expressing his confidence that anti-EU forces would prevail in the national referendum and explained his hope that Moldova will become a member of the Eurasian Union (sic - “Eurasian Economic Union”). Interpol has sent Russia a request to extradite Shor to Moldova though no one expects that to happen.
Author’s Note: Ilan Shor has featured in nearly every Weekly Roundup of the last year and therefore it is normal to become a little numb to all the news about him. But readers should keep the following context in mind with stories like this. Shor has been convicted of orchestrating the theft of $1 billion dollars from 3 Moldovan banks in 2014 - topping the previous record for bank robbery, Saddam Hussein. This theft caused an economic disaster that Moldovans are still feeling today. In politics he has engaged in voter bribery on a massive scale and while these cases linger in court (more on that below) he has openly admitted to this bribery many, many times. Shor has organized violent protests and trained agitators in Turkey with the hopes of violently overthrowing the Moldovan government and attaining power. Despite these actions he lives freely in Israel and is allowed to travel to countries that refuse to extradite him. And because of his criminal actions he is warmly welcomed in Russia. In the weekly churn of news it is important to remember the context of what this man has done and why he is being greeted and celebrated in Russia.
Illegal financing of the Shor and Chance parties
This week police arrested Maria Pantalon who is responsible for infrastructure and construction projects at the Orhei city hall. Searches uncovered 600,000 lei in envelopes of amounts ranging between 20,000 and 50,000 lei in the safe in her house as well as lists outlining distribution plans. They also arrested a courier with 180,000 lei and 200 euros in the trunk of a luxury car. The driver was from Gagauzia and also holds Russian citizenship. Police are investigating the source and distribution plans of this money which is linked to the Chance party.
Even as police efforts at interdicting Shor’s illicit money flows continue, the criminal cases around this money have stalled in court. Shor party leader Marina Tauber’s case involving 200 million lei in illicit party financing has hit an impasse as the lawyer for the Shor party, a co-defendant, has simply stopped attending hearings. The party lawyer claims that since the Shor party has been legally dissolved he no longer has a client and the case is over. Defense lawyers are seeking the charges to be dropped while prosecutors are arguing that the judge should either compel the defense lawyers to attend hearings or appoint a public defender in their place. Meanwhile the judge has asked the Ministry of Justice for some clarifications about the liquidation of the Shor party and the case simply gets deferred week to week as these procedural problems are fought over.
Since prosecutors brought the case one and a half years ago delay after delay has prevented the trail moving forward. Meanwhile, Anti-Corruption Prosecutors and police have continued interdicting Shor funds and have now seized 9.9 million lei over the course of the investigation.
Other Crime and Justice News
Here’s a rapid fire roundup of the other top stories in justice of the week:
Four candidates for the position of Prosecutor General have moved forward to an interview phase. Two other candidates were removed from consideration already. Since announcing the intention to hire a new Prosecutor General in October the government has struggled to find suitable applicants and a previous hiring competition ended with no accepted candidates. It is unclear if any will get through this process.
Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Veronica Dragalin stated in an interview that she is looking for a new office for her agency and hopes to move into the building currently housing the National Academy of Sciences. This caused some panic among the researchers at the academy who are loudly protesting this potential move. It is unclear if there is any real plan to move the agency.
A new national poll on the justice sector has been released. The Institute for European Policy and Reform and Magenta Consulting released the poll showing that 25% of people think that the situation with the justice system has gotten worse over the last 3 years. 53% cite corruption as the main problem followed by 12% citing nepotism or family ties being used to manipulate cases. Overall only 22% of people have confidence in the justice system. Of those surveyed 68% support European Integration and 75% support the creation of an anti-corruption court. President Sandu announced the plan for such a court last spring but little concrete action has been taken to develop it - at least publicly.
Economic and Infrastructure News
Here’s a rapid fire roundup of the top stories in economics and infrastructure this week:
The Dutch headquartered Yandex NV has officially divested from its Russian holding Yandex. Yandex, sometimes called Russia’s google, has now effectively been split into 2 companies, one servicing Russia and one the rest of the world. Yandex Moldova, the lead provider of ride sharing services in the country, has announced that it will continue being operated by Yandex NV and that there will be no changes for Moldovan customers.
The government plans to announce a new series of privatizations. A final list of companies and assets to be privatized will be drawn up in the coming months, but initial announcements stated that the Chisinau Glass Factory and "Hotel" Zarea will be on the list. Hotel Zarea easily ranks as the most dingy former Soviet hotel in the country - and there is considerable competition for that title. The hotel has primarily drawn attention over the years for bedbug outbreaks but sits on valuable real estate in the center of Chisinau.
Railway workers threaten strikes if they aren’t paid by February 20th. Employees of the railroad are demanding full payment of the late wages. They have only recently been paid their salaries for last October. Government spokesman Daniel Voda responded to the strike threat saying:
“This problem is the focus of attention of the authorities, including the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development. We continue to look for a solution so that workers who did their jobs honestly can receive their salaries. We also understand the protests,”
The National Bank has reduced the base rate to 4.25%. This is down from 4.75%. The moves comes as the National Bank forecasts annual inflation in 2024 at 4.7% , well within the bank’s 5% (±1.5%) target.