The head of the General Police Inspectorate, on the searches carried out in the file on illegal financing of the Chance party: “There is a reasonable suspicion that the transactions come from the Russian Federation”

The General Inspectorate of Police (IGP) has published several recordings from the file opened on the fact of illegal financing of the Chance party, as well as independent candidates “supported from the shadows” by the party. IGP chief Viorel Cernăuțeanu told a press briefing on Friday, October 27, that dozens of people are being investigated, some of them working with state institutions, and that millions of lei in transactions are allegedly involved, with the money coming from the Russian Federation. The accusations were denied by the party chairman.

The statements were made in the context of more than 60 raids carried out on Thursday, October 26, in several locations in the country, at the homes of members of the Chance party and at the headquarters of the political party.

“The law enforcement bodies, in the process of documentation, found a widespread phenomenon throughout Moldova related to the financing of electoral campaigns, bribery of voters, forgery of signatures on lists to support so-called independent candidates who are actually promoted by the political party.

The two massive raids targeted 22 localities – 3 municipalities and 19 districts. In the process of investigation, conducted jointly with other state institutions, the vast majority of transactions that have been documented come from outside Moldova and there is reasonable suspicion that they come from the Russian Federation and are managed by a criminal group organized in the interest of a political party, reasonable suspicion of financing comes on the Chance party,” said the head of the IGP.

Viorel Chernateanu also said that some of the independent candidates registered for the general local elections to be held on 5 November would in fact be from the Chance party.

“The law enforcement bodies have managed to document through evidence a number of illegal actions carried out by these criminal groups. In particular this money is for buying voters and rigging the electoral process. We will see in the evidence presented today how to corrupt or camouflage the financing of a party, where the person only participates with his signature. In order to secure the process, the person was asked to bring in legal income so that they would be covered in the funding lists for that political party. In the case of pensioners, these amounts declared as donations were up to 2000 lei. In the case of people who are employed in the labour force, the amount indicated as donation is up to 9 000 lei (…) At the same time, for a series of candidates nominated as independents, the direct and subordinate involvement of the Șansă party was demonstrated, where the lists and the filling of signatures by forgery demonstrated after the collection of evidence (…)”, reported Cernăuțeanu.

Chance chairman Alexei Lungu denied the authenticity of the recordings and suggested party members “not to be intimidated even if they come with masks at 5-6 am to scare you”.

“Those from the institutions of force, that I can’t call them state institutions, after failing to find any evidence for the crimes they are doing and no argument, started to launch in the public space all kinds of fake news, audio and video montages just to somehow argue their illegal activity in front of their masters, those who gave them orders,” Lungu said in a video published on social media.

Lawmen raided 65 places in several localities across the country on Thursday, October 26, as part of a case of illegal financing of a political party and independent representatives guided by the same stuff in local elections, the IGP announced in a press release, without mentioning which political party.

However, in the published audio sequences with calls, there is talk of the Șansă party, associated with fugitive former MP Ilan Șor.

As a result of the raids, three people, representatives of the targeted party, were detained.

“Virtually all of the searched figures were found PYYPL bank cards, phones and tablets in which the mobile application for transaction management was installed, financial means, 24 cartridges of 5.60 mm caliber, lists of entries with participation in various events and amounts paid to participants, as well as special technique used in investigative actions,” according to the IGP.

Police representatives claim that as a result of special investigative measures and prosecution actions, evidence was gathered on illegal financing of the party’s territorial offices, registration of independent candidates, but confidentially supported by the same party, falsification of signatures on lists for supporting and registering candidates, payment of 20 000 lei to party candidates and independent candidates supported confidentially by this party, payment of 500 to 3 000 lei to persons who agree to vote for candidates of this party, as well as the intention to “fully bribe” voters in some localities, etc.

Shor’s “Chance” from Plahotniuc’s seized headquarters: thousands of euros for online advertising, signatures obtained through threats and promises of millions (of lei)

Just one month after the creation of the “ȘANSĂ” (“Chance” from Romanian, ed.) party, at the helm of which journalist Alexei Lungu has been installed, thousands of euros are being spent to promote the party online, with the leader holding his press conferences in Plahotniuc’s former headquarters in the centre of the capital,  and, in several localities of the country, people who previously represented the “Shor” party, declared unconstitutional, act in the name of the “Chance” party and, making promises of millions of lei, collect signatures, sometimes obtaining them through threats.

Alexei Lungu, whom ZdG has caught several times recently entering the former headquarters of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) during the Plahotniuc era, arrives at work each time brought by a driver, who is also a bodyguard. He says he doesn’t know who pays the thousands of euros for the party’s online promotion or who paid for the banners that have been plastered all over the country, that he pays out of his own pocket for the rent of the hall for press conferences and that the driver who takes him to and from the party is “a friend who accompanies me and helps me in my political work”.