EditMoldova’s president warns of ‘unprecedented’ Russian interference ahead of election
"Funding of 100 million euros is planned through cryptocurrencies alone," Maia Sandu said
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Wednesday (30 July) that electoral corruption and illegal external financing from Russia were the biggest threats to a parliamentary election on 28 September, allegations that Moscow denied.
The vote could see Sandu’s Party of Action and Solidarity lose its majority in the assembly of the ex-Soviet state, which lies between Ukraine and Romania.
“The Russian Federation wants to control the Republic of Moldova from autumn onwards and is preparing unprecedented interference in the September elections,” Sandu told a press conference in Chisinau.
The Kremlin denied on Wednesday that Russia sought to meddle in the election.
Four pro-Russian parties have said they will form a bloc in order to press for victory in the election and oust the government, which is committed to seeking European Union membership by 2030.
Ties between Russia and Moldova, which was formerly part of the Soviet Union, have deteriorated as the Moldovan government has accelerated its push to integrate with the EU.
“The greatest danger of Russia’s interference in our internal affairs is that it poses a direct threat to our country’s national security, sovereignty, and European future,” Sandu said.
Moldova also accused Russia of interfering in the presidential election and a referendum on joining the European Union last year. Moscow denied those allegations.
The government said the main instruments that could be deployed by Russia included bribery of voters, cyberattacks, information manipulation campaigns and paid protests.
“Funding of approximately 100 million euros is planned through cryptocurrencies alone,” Sandu said about funds which she said could be used for electoral corruption. She provided no evidence for the allegations.
A poll published in July put Sandu’s PAS on 27.4% support ahead of the election, compared with 10.4% for the opposition Socialists.
Moldova’s Central Election Commission this month refused to register the pro-Russian Victory bloc, formed in 2024 and backed by pro-Kremlin fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, for the vote on grounds of violating electoral financing laws. Shor dismissed the decision as absurd.
Oligarch to be held responsible for the “theft of the century”
Moldovan business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc, detained in Greece on a warrant linked to a landmark $1 billion fraud case, is willing to be extradited to Moldova, his lawyer said on Monday.
Plahotniuc, a former lawmaker and considered one of Moldova’s richest men, is one of the chief suspects in Moldova’s “theft of the century”, the disappearance in 2013 of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system — the equivalent at the time of 12% of the ex-Soviet state’s GDP.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
“My client has officially agreed to extradition to Moldova,” lawyer Lucian Rogac told reporters.
He said Plahotniuc was “ready to cooperate with international judicial bodies” and any final decision on extradition procedures lay with Greek authorities.
Plahotniuc, in a statement later issued on newly opened social media accounts, said he intended to publish “important information” about himself and the situation in Moldova.
Plahotniuc, 59, who fled Moldova in 2019, was arrested last week at the Athens airport while on his way to Dubai. He has denied wrongdoing.
Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc detained in Greece, faces extradition
An Interpol red notice was issued against him based on accusations that include participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and fraud. Interpol had issued a wanted notice for him in February.
According to a Greek police official, Russia had also requested Plahotniuc’s arrest and extradition.
Plahotniuc, a dual Moldovan and Russian national, is sought by Russia for allegedly orchestrating the attempted murder of a political rival in Moldova around 2014, according to a document seen by Reuters.
He was later linked to a criminal gang smuggling drugs from Morocco to Spain and Russia, the document said.
Greek police said that since 2023, Plahotniuc has lived in 22 countries, changing residence regularly to avoid detection. A police investigation found that Plahotniuc and a partner were living in a villa in the Athens suburbs.
Plahotniuc was the leader of Moldova’s Democratic party from 2016-2019, part of the governing coalition at the time, and served as deputy speaker of parliament. While in office, he wielded great influence over the police, judiciary and courts.
In 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on seven people from Moldova, including Plahotniuc and Shor, for actions that it said destabilised and undermined the territorial integrity of Moldova and neighbouring Ukraine.
The elections’ outcome will determine whether Moldova continues its EU integration, bolstered by a €1.8 billion EU financial package, or succumbs to Moscow’s hybrid warfare, which exploits economic discontent and regional divisions in areas like Gagauzia and Transnistria, threatening national security and the stability of the EU’s eastern flank.
With Reuters. Edited by g.g.
Caption: President of Moldova Maia Sandu (R) delivers her speech during a press conference after the meeting of the Supreme Security Council in the presidential palace in Chisinau, Moldova, 30 July 2025. Sandu spoke about Moldova’s insecurity crisis, Russian hybrid attacks, and foreign influence in electoral preparations. Moldova will hold parliamentary elections on 28 September 2025. EPA/DUMITRU DORU
Updated: July 31, 2025 - 05:57
