The United States has sanctioned nine individuals and 12 entities for corrupting Moldova's political and economic institutions.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. designated two fugitive oligarchs and other individuals and entities for corruption and Kremlin-linked efforts to tamper with Moldova's democratic elections, according to an Oct. 26 State Department news release. Visa restrictions were imposed on is former Moldovan government official Vladimir Plahotniuc in January 2020. Ilan Shor, leader of the Shor Party, was also included for interference in governmental elections.
“The sanctions imposed today expose not only Russia’s covert strategy in Moldova, but also demonstrate how corruption undermines the rule of law. Russian influence operations attempt to exploit weaknesses in target countries in order to destabilize them from within,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said, according to an Oct. 26 Treasury Department release. “The United States continues to support Moldovan efforts to combat corruption and counter Russian influence.”
Plahotniuc is a former member of the Moldovan Parliament who served as a de facto leader and elected chair of the Democratic Party of Moldova. The Treasury Department release said Plahotniuc controlled the country's law enforcement and used them to target political and economic opponents. He maintained control of the judicial system and utilized Moldovan courts to manipulate and invalidate June 2018 mayoral elections in Chisinau.
Plahotniuc also controlled key media outlets, traded positions of power for political support, bribed politicians and law enforcement and closed voting stations in regions where his party was expected to perform poorly, the Treasury Department release reported.
Shor has been linked to the 2014 theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks, the Treasury Department reported. In the 2021 Moldovan elections, Shor worked with Russian individuals to undermine Moldovan president Maia Sandu to return the country back to Russia's sphere of influence, according to the release.
Shor received Russian support as of June 2022 and coordinated with other oligarchs to create unrest. The Treasury Department alleges in June 2022 Shor worked with Moscow-based entities to undermine Moldova's EU bid. Shor's wife, the Russian pop singer Sara Lvovna Shor, also received sanctions.
The Treasury Department sanctioned Igor Yuryevich Chayka who worked with Shor to undermine President Maia Sandu to return Moldova to Russia's sphere of influence, the release reported He is the son of Yuriy Chayka, a member of Russia's Security Council who was designated April 6, 2020.
Chayka owns various Russia-located enterprises that were designated, including OOO Aqua Solid, OOO Ekogrupp, OOO Inzhiniring.rf, OOO Inovatsii Sveta, OOO Khartiya, Proekt-Ekologiya, OOO Region-Comfort, and OOO Mezhmunitsipalnoe Avtotransportnoyoe Predpreyatie. Ivan Aleskansdrovich Zavorotnyi, an associate of Chayka and board member of many of Chayka's companies, was also designated.
The remaining individuals in the latest sanctions are Yuriy Igorevich Gudilin, Olga Yurievna Grak and Leonid Mikhailovich Gonin, according to the Treasury Department release. They worked as advisors to Moldovan President Igor Dodon in the 2020 presidential election. They were heavily involved in attempting to influence outcomes for Moldova's 2020 and 2021 elections.
