HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Greetings from Chişinău! Here’s what’s happening this week: our feature story breaks down the investigation on a loan made to a company affiliated with the family of the President of Moldova’s Parliament, as part of the Billion Case. In editorials, ZdG comments on the outcomes of one hundred days of the Sandu government, assessing the progress they made in the justice sector, as well as the President’s visit to the United States and to the 74th Session of the U.N. General Assembly. In weekly investigations, we take a closer look at the suspicious privatization of Air Moldova, the only state owned airline, as well as the Țopa case, in which two Moldovan businessmen are calling for the annulment of what they claim are fabricated criminal cases initiated under Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party government. All of that and more in this week’s newsletter. Happy reading!  

THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

FAMILY LOAN: Prosecutors are investigating forty companies implicated in the Billion Case. Included in the investigation is AlsvitVin, a company affiliated with Alexei Greceanîi – the husband of Moldova’s Parliamentary President Zinaida Greceanîi. In 2011, AlsvitVin’s predecessor company benefited from a loan of around €2 million from Banca de Economii, which now is at the center of the billion dollar bank fraud case. The loan has yet to be repaid – despite the bank’s attempts to recover it. And although there are several documents proving that Alexei Greceanîi was involved in managing the companies that contracted and benefitted from the money, the National Anticorruption Center claims that Greceanîi’s full implication in the bank fraud has yet to be proven.

FROM THE EDITORS

ONE HUNDRED DAYS: This week, a public event took place during the U.N.’s annual assembly in New York. ZdG Politics Editor Petru Grozavu looks at the reasons why President Dodon’s first visit to the U.S. in the three years of his presidency did not become the news of the week, while the Sandu Government’s 100 Days Report did. He sums up their achievements, including removing the oligarchic regime, ending Moldova’s international isolation, de-oligarchization and de-politicizing of institutions, justice reform, supporting the country’s citizens, and starting arrests in the case of the stolen billion. 

RUSSIA’S 14TH ARMY: In the midst of discussions on climate change and the future at the U.N. headquarters in New York this week, one person came to the rostrum with a special request: the official recognition of the Transnistrian region of Moldova as a separate state. ZdG’s Executive Director Alina Radu argues that this speech at the U.N.General Assembly clearly demonstrated the toxic climate of Moldovan-Russian relations. Ironically, not even the Russian Federation recognizes the independence of the Transnistrian region, nevertheless, according to Radu, dialogue between the two countries is currently unsustainable. 

THE FOREIGN BRIEF

IMF-MOLDOVA: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $46 million loan tranche for Moldova, pointing out that the country has made progress on its reform agenda, achieving macroeconomic stability. Previously, an IMF mission led by Ruben Atoyan made an official visit to Chișinău on June 26 and July 10, 2019. During the visit, the mission held talks with the authorities in order to revise the IMF-funded program under the Extended Fund Facility (ECF) and the Extended Financing Mechanism arrangements. 

PRESIDENT GOES WEST: Moldova’s President, Igor Dodon made a one-week working visit to the U.S., his first since taking office in 2016. During his visit, the President attended several events in New York and held bilateral meetings with several leaders from abroad, including representatives of American leadership, organizations and business circles. President Dodon also gave a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, speaking about Moldova’s neutrality and the country’s plans to follow a balanced foreign policy. 

ENERGY SECTOR: Moldova will be able to connect its electricity network with Romania’s thanks to a joint investment from international partners: the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction, the European Investment Bank, the E.U. and the World Bank. The interconnection is of critical importance for the diversification of Moldova’s electricity resources, which mostly relies on a single power plant fuelled by natural gas, oil and coal, as well as from electricity imports from Ukraine. Grants and loans in the amount of €200 million and $70 million will co-finance the construction of new power lines and stations. 

ZDG INVESTIGATES

AIR MOLDOVA SEIZURE: Anti-corruption prosecutors and representatives of the Crime Assets Recovery Agency seized around €15.6 million from the statutory capital of Air Moldova, the state airline that underwent non-transparent privatization in the autumn of 2018. Experts who have analyzed the privatization of Air Moldova have also established that in 2017 (just one year before it was sold) the company benefited from state aid worth around €3.9 million. The seizure took place earlier this week within the criminal case on money laundering in extremely high proportions. The preliminary report on the privatization of Air Moldova showed that its biggest debts were to companies affiliated with Ilan Shor, the former mayor of Orhei and businessman who is currently wanted in Moldova for money laundering and fraud.

ANNULMENT CASE: Amid the country’s ongoing push for addressing injustices by the previous regime, another well-known court case got a second chance. Prominent businessmen Victor Țopa and Viorel Țopa filed appeals to Moldova’s Supreme Court of Justice this month in an attempt to have their criminal convictions annulled. Both claim that their high-profile cases – known in Moldova as the bank raider attacks of the 2000s – are based on fabricated criminal charges initiated under Plahotniuc’s Democratic Party government. Viorel Țopa was found guilty of misappropriation of foreign assets in 2012 and then convicted of money laundering and forgery in May 2019, resulting in a cumulative sentence of 15 years behind bars. Victor Țopa was sentenced to ten years in prison for blackmail in 2013. According to their lawyers, the appeal is galvanized by Europe’s top court: since early 2010s the ECtHR has been examining if there was a violation of the businessmen’s rights — now defendants want to settle the remedy “amicably” without further involving the ECtHR.

FORMER DEPUTY INVESTIGATED: The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office placed the former ruling party deputy Constantin Ţuțu, under investigation for influence peddling. On September 27, the Chișinău Court issued a 30-day arrest warrant in his name, albeit in absentia since the former deputy fled the country on June 2019. According to the accusations, Țuțu allegedly asked for and took 20,000 euros from the relatives of a man arrested in autumn 2017, promising to influence the prosecutors responsible for the man’s case. 

MOLDOVA IN WORLD NEWS

TRANSBORDER MONEY LAUNDERING: According to BBC News, the Ex-chief of Danske bank, Aivar Rehe was found dead on September 25. The bank is under investigation in countries including Britain, Denmark, Estonia and the U.S. due to suspicious payments amounting to €200 billion, made through its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015. The scandal centres on the branch’s handling of money flowing from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova. Rehe headed Danske Bank’s Estonian branch during that time and was a witness in an ongoing money-laundering investigation, but not a suspect.

SPOTTED THIS WEEK

TRANSNISTRIAN SETTLEMENT: On September 25, the Deputy Prime Minister for reintegration Vasilii Șova had a new meeting with the head of the E.U. delegation to the Republic of Moldova Peter Michalko. The officials discussed recent developments in the Transnistrian settlement, the current topics on the agenda and the priority activities that will be promoted in Chișinău’s vision in the near future. Potential initiatives were also addressed to help build trust between the residents of both banks of the Dniester and to strengthen the capacities of the national institutions responsible for achieving the reintegration of the region.
 

MOLDOVA AND THE E.U.: European MEP Siegfried Mureșan became President of the European Parliament Delegation to the E.U.-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee. After his election, Mureșan gave a speech saying that Moldova’s security and safety is important for E.U.’s security. Previously, Mureșan proposed that in the E.U.’s 2021-2027 budget, half of the funds allocated to Moldova go towards investments in energy and transport connectivity. The Romanian MEP also said that he would come to Moldova soon and tell citizens about the advantages of being close to the E.U.

Thank you for your continued interest!  To keep up with our Moldova coverage throughout the week, you can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter@ZiarulDe or check in at zdg.md/eng for our latest stories in English. More subscription options coming soon. Until next time!