HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Greetings from Chişinău! Here’s what’s happening this week: we feature a story on the conditional release of the ex-Prime Minister Vlad Filat, sentenced to nine years in prison for passive corruption and traffic of influence. In editorials, ZdG comments on the importance of equal conditions for the taxpayers, when the state starts to introduce new tax reforms. In weekly investigations, we take a closer look at the new Prosecutor General and his deputy prosecutors’ assets and ties with the previous governments. All of that and more in this week’s newsletter. Happy reading!  

THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

EX-PRIME MINISTER RELEASED: After the ex-Prime Minister was conditionally released, exchanges of accusations between the opposing political parties broke out. While the President blames the former Government led by Maia Sandu, the former Government blames President Igor Dodon for fostering selective justice practices. While investigating the circumstances that led to Vlad Filat’s release on parole, ZdG traced the people who participated in this process and concluded that the release of the former Prime Minister is a consequence of a new compensatory mechanism introduced by the government led by the Democratic Party. This summer, Filat’s nine-year sentence was reduced twice by a total of 1 year and 10 months. The Chișinău Court found Vlad Filat guilty of passive corruption and influence-peddling based on the accusations of convicted businessman and politician Ilan Shor. From the nine-year sentence, Filat served four years and a month in prison. Vlad Filat is also accused of committing criminal offenses of money laundering in big proportions, in another ongoing criminal case. 

FROM THE EDITORS

DODON’S EVASION: The state retroactively taxed the money sent to journalists by Google for advertising on web pages, to raise revenues in the state budget. At the same time, the biggest users of money coming from abroad remain untouched. ZdG’s Executive Director Alina Radu argues on the importance of equal conditions for all the taxpayers. According to the de facto President of the Socialist Party, the party spends between 41,000 euros and 51,500 euros every month, taxing such a big receiver of remittances could enrich the state budget, and taxing them retroactively could even result in a solid criminal case, which will restore many people’s confidence in the justice system. 

THE FOREIGN BRIEF

VISIT TO TURKEY: This week President Igor Dodon announced about his upcoming visit to Turkey, where he will meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. President Dodon says he wants to strengthen relations with Turkey which is a strategic partner for Moldova. In 2017 President Dodon received a gift from the Turkish President to spend his holidays in Antalya along with his family. And in 2018, Turkey financed the repairs of the presidency, amounting to €10 million, while another €5 million were offered by Moldova.

E.B.R.D. INVESTMENTS: Moldova saves €25 million by using MTender, an electronic public procurement system supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (E.B.R.D.) and the European Union. The system cost to €1.2 million and it was introduced in all ministries and 2,500 state institutions in Moldova, in 2018. MTender represents an important effort to transform the way in which public funds are spent, enabling Moldova’s first electronic auction, reducing the risk of bid-rigging and promoting fair competition and integrity. The E.B.R.D. is the leading institutional investor in Moldova and has so far invested over €1.3 billion through almost 130 projects since it has become active in Moldova. The Bank also helps the authorities design policies that improve the business climate.

ZDG INVESTIGATES

NEW PROSECUTOR GENERAL: After a five-month-long search for a Prosecutor General, one of the controversial issues that led to the government’s demise, last month Alexandr Stoianoglo became the new Prosecutor General. In turn, Stoianoglo appointed three deputy prosecutors. ZdG investigated the assets and political ties of the Prosecutor General and the three deputy prosecutors. The Prosecutor General was previously a member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the Democratic Party, but he has distanced himself in recent years from politics. At the same time, one of his deputy prosecutors has served under the former prosecutor Eduard Harunjen during the rule of the Democratic Party government as well. Another deputy prosecutor has a luxurious house built while he was working at the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. 

BACK TO WORK: In 2018 the government bought 105 ambulances with public money. Later anticorruption prosecutors investigated the correctness of the procurement procedures and the contracts of the high price and questionable quality of the ambulances, detaining the former director of the National Center for Emergency Medical Assistance (CNAMUP) and one of his deputy directors. ZdG continued following the ambulance case where suspicious tenders took place, observing that last week, the former head of CNAMUP regained his position. The law enforcement authorities failed again to bring to justice people who used their positions to influence the outcomes of the tenders.

MOLDOVA IN WORLD NEWS

ENVIRONMENT CRUSADERS: Southeast European environmental activists are waging a battle to combat environmental destruction in the region, engaging in “flash mob” campaigns, orchestrating mass protests and starting film festivals to promote conservation – all the while rattling and challenging local authorities BalkanInsight writes. In Moldova, one of these activists is advocating for the importance of the Nistru river, which provides 80 percent of the drinking water in Moldova.  

TAX FOR IT COMPANIES: A new fiscal measure will be taxing IT companies including Facebook, Google, and Netflix in a move should bring in at least €5 million next year Madalin Necsutu writes for BalkanInsight. However, these changes will block the entrepreneurs from innovating, and stop some big international companies to provide services in Moldova any longer under the new amendments. The 2020 budget projects revenues of €1.85 billion and a deficit of €370 million. 

PLAHOTNIUC’S LOCATION: President Igor Dodon claimed that the United States planned to use the fugitive oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc in its fight against Russia. “Those who helped Plahotniuc to flee counted at minimum on his control over the Democratic Party. He pledged to ensure support for the pro-European government of Sandu [Prime Minister Maia Sandu — TASS] and prevent the strengthening of the Socialists, who are carrying out a balanced foreign policy in the interests of the country,” Dodon said in an interview for the Russian News Agency TASS. 

SPOTTED THIS WEEK

MOLDOVA IN JAPAN: Moldova’s embassy in Japan presented our country in the Art Mile project in a school from the Tomi city, Nagano Prefecture. Tomi City is recorded as the host city for Moldova’s national team from the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020. Furthermore, Japan is an important economic partner for Moldova, supporting Moldova’s economy through profitable loans to the country’s agricultural industry, and funds offered for purchasing firefighters’ trucks.

U.S. OFFICIAL IN MOLDOVA: On December 6, the Deputy Assistant for the European and Eurasian Affairs of the U.S. Secretary of State, George Kent met with Prime Minister Ion Chicu discussing bilateral relations between Moldova and the U.S.A. and the assistance provided by the U.S. Government. Since 1992 the U.S.A. has provided over $1.5 billion in assistance to Moldova and other $262 million through the Millennium Challenge Corporation. 

PEDESTRIAN ROADS: The German Ambassador to Moldova together with the mayor of the Cupcini village, North of Moldova, held a festive opening of the paving the pedestrian roads project. In Cupcini 11,000 square meters of pedestrian pavement were rehabilitated and rebuilt with Germany’s support.