ORHEI, MOLDOVA — Moldova authorities fear that up to a quarter of votes cast in a presidential election and an EU membership referendum on Sunday could be tainted by Russian cash, according to its police chief.
In Orhei — a bastion of fugitive pro-Russian politician Ilan Shor — a party atmosphere reigned last weekend, with a wine festival, folk music and traditional dancing on the central square.
But just before the weekend, police arrested four of the town’s municipal employees on suspicion of electoral interference.
The arrests were among a series of raids after police uncovered a massive vote buying scheme in the former Soviet republic neighbouring war-torn Ukraine.
Moldova’s government has repeatedly warned of Russian interference as pro-EU President Maia Sandu seeks a second term and a “yes” in a referendum on joining the European Union.
Washington this week accused Russia of “working actively to undermine Moldova’s election”, while the EU issued fresh sanctions on several people.
In what Moldova police chief Viorel Cernauteanu described to AFP as an “unprecedented phenomenon”, millions of dollars have been transferred from Russia to corrupt up to 300,000 people, or about a quarter of those expected to vote on Sunday in the country of 2.6 million people in total.
He said suspect bank transfers to 150,000 people had been made. “If we are talking about these people having a family member, that’s 300,000. We are talking about a platform of over 25 percent of the voters in the Republic of Moldova,” said Cernauteanu.
