Moldovan authorities have accused a Moldovan Israeli oligarch of trying to interfere in their upcoming presidential elections by convincing citizens to vote with a candidate against joining the EU through compensation on behalf of Russia, according to the Kyiv Independent.
Ilan Shor, a Moldovan-Israeli pro-Russia oligarch and former member of the Moldovan Parliament, has been accused of organizing a network that allegedly paid $15 million to 130,000 Moldovan citizens in exchange for their vote in accordance with instructions sent on Telegram, alongside misinformation about the EU.
Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Moldova on October 20 and will include the opportunity for Moldovans to vote on a referendum deciding whether the country should join the EU, according to Reuters.
Shor is the leader of the Șor Party, a pro-Russia party in Moldova that has been banned due to being declared unconstitutional, according to Reuters, and has been accused of money laundering and sentenced in absentia, as he lived in Israel, for money laundering in April for a separate $1 billion bank scandal.
Moldovan Sor Party leader Ilan Shor speaks to the audience during the Moldova opposition bloc Pobeda congress in Moscow on June 9, 2024. Moldovan authorities have recently accused Shor of money laundering and attempting to interfere in upcoming presidential elections.
Alexey Maishev/Associated Press
Newsweek was unable to reach Shor for comment.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email outside of business hours.
The incumbent Moldovan president has played a key role in negotiations to join the EU, and it was granted membership status in 2022.
Discussing the allegations, Moldova’s chief of police, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, told Politico, “Moldova is facing a phenomenon of voter bribery, combined with hybrid warfare and disinformation, the likes of which our country has never seen before.”
Cernăuțeanu added, “This ‘mafia-style’ network, orchestrated from Moscow, aims to influence voters ahead of the presidential elections and EU referendum.”
According to Reuters, Shor denounced the allegations of bribery in a statement to TASS, a Russian news agency, and said that they were an “absurd spectacle,” and accused Moldovan President Maia Sandu’s party of taking bribes from Western nongovernmental organizations.
Moldova’s national security adviser, Stanislav Secrieru, also spoke to Politico about increasing amounts of propaganda and intimidation ahead of the election, and predicted that, “Russia will spend around €100 million on interference into Moldovan democratic processes this year.”
Sandu, according to Reuters reporting, is pro-EU and has been supportive of Ukraine in the war with Russia, accusing Moscow of attempting to overthrow the Moldovan government as she seeks a second term, which Russia denies.
Shor has previously said that joining the EU would be “destructive for our citizens and for the country” and that “our task is to show people alternatives that have worked over time.”
There are reportedly 11 candidates participating in the upcoming Moldovan presidential elections, with a total of 15 political parties campaigning, vying for the presidential seat.
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