Another country in Putin’s target. Confidential documents disclosed

• The American newspaper, citing documents obtained through intelligence and talks with Moldovan, Ukrainian and Western officials, points out that one of the high-ranking Russian politicians praised Shor as “a worthy long-term partner”
• Described as “young” by the Federal Security Service of Russia, 35-year-old Shor is a leading figure in the Kremlin’s efforts to regain influence in Moldova
• The FSB has donated tens of millions of dollars. from some of the largest Russian state-owned companies to maintain a network of Kremlin-friendly Moldovan politicians and reorient the country towards Russia
• More important information can be found on the Onet homepage

“When last month thousands of protesters gathered in front of the presidential palace in Moldova calling on Maia Sandu the country’s pro-Western president to step down, the man behind the demonstration – Ilan Shor, the leader of the opposition party called the Shora Party and now living in Israel – quickly received praise from Moscow. “- the newspaper notes.

The American newspaper, citing documents obtained through intelligence and talks with Moldovan, Ukrainian and Western officials, points out that one of the high-ranking Russian politicians praised Shor as a “worthy long-term partner” and even offered the Moldovan region led by the Shora party a cheap Russian deal gas. Referred to as “young” by the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB), 35-year-old Shor is a leading figure in the Kremlin’s efforts to regain influence in Moldova.

The rest of the text below the video

Ilan Szor, according to The Times of Israel, decorated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was convicted of stealing a billion dollars. from Moldovan banks in 2014. The following year he was elected mayor of the central city of Orhei.

In 2017, he was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for money laundering, fraud and abuse of trust. However, he remained free pending an appeal, during which he successfully ran for the 2019 parliamentary elections in Moldova.

A few months after his election to the Moldovan parliament, he fled the country, most likely to Israel, and has been wanted by the Moldovan authorities ever since.

Let us return to the findings of “The Washington Post”. As the newspaper reads, Moscow continues to try to manipulate Eastern European countries, even as its war campaign in Ukraine is waning. The FSB has donated tens of millions of dollars. from some of the largest Russian state-owned companies to maintain a network of Kremlin-friendly Moldovan politicians and reorient the country towards Russia.

The US administration announced on Wednesday that it had imposed sanctions on Moldovan oligarchs Vlad Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor, as well as Russian businessmen and officials involved in attempts to interfere in Moldovan internal affairs and drag Moldova into the Russian sphere of influence.

The Treasury Department argued that Shor “coordinated with representatives of other oligarchs the formation of political unrest in Moldova” and “received Russian support”, and also worked in June “with entities based in Moscow to undermine” Moldova’s efforts to join the European Union.

Sanctions also extended to his wife, the Russian pop singer Jasmin, who was also decorated by Vladimir Putin.

Shor denies ever having received support from Moscow. – We are an absolutely independent party that defends only the position of Moldovan citizens – he explains. He blamed the pro-Western attitude of the Moldovan government for leading the country to – as he said – an “economic collapse”.

Meanwhile, Gazprom, the Russian state monopoly, cut gas supplies to Moldova by 30 percent this month. and threatens with further reductions in November. The pro-Western government of Moldova had to seek help to fill the gaps in Bulgaria.

Until recently, as the documents analyzed by the American newspaper show, the main transmitter of the FSB in Moldova was the Socialist Party, led by pro-Moscow Igor Dodon, who served as President of Moldova in 2016-2020.

However, the Socialist Party’s strategy derailed in 2020 when the Moldovan people rejected Dodon after stuck in a series of corruption scandals. In one secretly taped video leaked in 2019, Dodon admitted receiving funds from the Kremlin – including Gazprom – and said he needed $ 800,000. up to a million dollars per month to cover the “running costs” of your batch.

Sources: washingtonpost.com, timesofisrael, PAP, Onet