National Police Chief Viorel Cernauteanu stated that around 130,000 Moldovans are targeted in the Shor’s parties’ illegal financing, as they receive money in Promsvyazbank accounts in Russia.
On the morning of October 3, officers of the National Investigation Inspectorate, jointly with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, carried out several searches in a criminal case initiated in connection with money laundering and illegal financing of parties and initiative groups supporting potential candidates who wanted to become electoral contestants in the race for the post of the head of state. An organized criminal group committed the crime on a particularly large scale.
Authorities seized draft writings, cell phones, sums of money in various currencies, and other items relevant to the criminal prosecution during the searches.
“According to the materials, the criminal organization led by Ilan Shor instructed its affiliates to recruit people to participate in the elections in exchange for money. They were to receive notifications on the eve of the elections through Telegram groups about which candidate to vote for and directed to vote “No” in the Referendum.
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The organized criminal group consists of individuals in the Russian Federation who engage in activities within a well-organized hierarchical structure”, the law enforcement officials state.
The police have so far identified 130 territorial leaders who would direct the group’s activity, accumulate lists with the identity data of the recruits, and then send them to the Russian Federation for registration and opening of accounts with Promsvyazbank. They receive a monthly payment equivalent to 45,000 lei.
Another sector president would collect and coordinate the activities of the group of activists and sympathizers, compile lists with individuals’ identifying information, and forward them to the territorial leader, receiving a monthly payment of 4,600 lei.
Over 50,000 activists would recruit and direct the activity of the group of sympathizers in the served sector, accumulate lists with the identity data of the recruited persons, and send them to the sectoral president, being paid monthly the equivalent of 4600 lei.
Allegedly, individuals recruited over 70,000 supporters of Shor and instructed them to vote “No” in the Referendum on accession to the European Union and to support a specific candidate, paying them between 900 and 1,800 lei per month.