Police: 130,000 Moldovans bribed to vote against EU referendum

4/10/2024 6:20

        Pro-Kremlin forces are
        meddling in Moldova's upcoming presidential election by paying
        off tens of thousands of voters in a sweeping plot to derail
        Chisinau's bid for closer European Union ties, police said on
        Thursday.
        
        Incumbent Maia Sandu has portrayed the Oct. 20 contest as a
        test of her pro-European politics. It will be held alongside a
        referendum asking voters whether Moldova should be able to join
        the bloc.
        
        Sandu, who is seeking a second term, has long accused Russia
        of attempting to overthrow her government through various means,
        a charge Moscow denies.
        
        National police chief Viorel Cernautanu said more than
        130,000 Moldovans had been bribed by a Russia-managed network to
        vote against the referendum and in favour of Russia-friendly
        candidates in what he called an "unprecedented, direct
        attack."
        
        "We are faced with the widespread phenomenon of financing
        and corruption with the aim of disrupting the electoral process
        in Moldova," Cernautanu told reporters.
        
        He said some $15 million had been transferred in September
        alone to accounts opened at Russia's Promsvyazbank.
        The most vocal opponent of EU membership, fugitive pro-Russian
        businessman Ilan Shor, who was convicted last year in absentia
        for his role in the theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks,
        offered payments last month to anyone who voted against European
        integration in the referendum.
        
        Shor, speaking to Russia's TASS news agency, described the
        allegations of bribery as an "absurd spectacle" and accused
        Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity of accepting money from
        Western nongovernmental organisations.
        
        Writing on his own Telegram channel, Shor said Moldova under
        Sandu "has been turned into a police state for good," referring
        to the detention of five of his supporters by prosecutors this
        week on charges of illegal financing of political parties.
        
        Moldova, which has a Romanian-speaking majority and large
        Russian-speaking minority, has alternated between pro-Russian
        and pro-Western governments since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet
        Union.
        
        A record 11 candidates are standing in this month's contest,
        with Sandu holding a comfortable lead in opinion polls.
        
        Meanwhile, Moldova's largest mobile phone operator, Orange
        Moldova, said it had blocked access to five Russian-language or
        Russia-oriented sites in response to an official order. But the
        sites appeared to be still available to many users.
        
        Moldovan authorities have blocked access to more than 20
        media outlets since last year, but many can still be reached.