Latest news with #Nesterovschi
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova expels 3 Russian diplomats for aiding fugitive MP's escape to Transnistria
Moldova expelled three Russian embassy employees on March 31, citing activities contrary to diplomatic status, the country's Foreign Ministry announced. The move follows reports that Moldovan lawmaker Alexandr Nesterovschi, sentenced to 12 years in prison for illegally financing the banned pro-Russian Shor Party, escaped to Russian-controlled Transnistria with help from Russian diplomats, according to Moldovan media Newsmaker. Transnistria is a Russian-occupied breakaway region of Moldova that Moscow invaded in the early 1990s under the pretext of protecting the Russian population. The Moldovan Information and Security Service confirmed that Nesterovschi, convicted on March 19 for corruption, fled to Transnistria with Moscow's assistance. The Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov and delivered a formal expulsion notice for three embassy employees. Russian state media TASS quoted Ozerov dismissing the accusations as "groundless and unsubstantiated." The pro-Russian Shor Party, led by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, has been accused of spreading Kremlin-backed narratives and attempting to destabilize Moldova through protests against its pro-European government. In a related case, Evghenia Gutul, governor of Moldova's Gagauzia region and a key Shor Party figure, was detained at Chisinau Airport on March 25 while attempting to leave the country. Moldova's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office alleges she funneled Russian funds into the country while serving as the party's secretary. Gutul, elected in July 2023, has maintained ties with Moscow, meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Russia in March 2024. Chisinau has actively countered Russian influence, expelling dozens of Russian diplomats and embassy staff in July 2023 over espionage concerns. Tensions escalated further after Chisinau said that Russian drones repeatedly violated Moldovan airspace during attacks on Ukraine, with some of the drones crashing on Moldovan territory. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Moldova issues wanted notice for missing pro-Russian lawmaker
By Alexander Tanas CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldovan authorities have issued an international wanted notice for a missing pro-Russian member of parliament, who disappeared the day he was handed a 12-year jail sentence on corruption charges. A second pro-Russian lawmaker, due to be sentenced next week, has also disappeared, officials said. Both are associates of Ilan Shor, a fugitive business magnate also jailed for his part in a mass fraud scheme who now heads a political party from exile in Moscow. Moldova's pro-European government accuses him of trying to destabilise the ex-Soviet state. The warrant for lawmaker Alexandr Nesterovschi was issued late on Friday and Interior Minister Daniela Misail-Nichitin said attempts to locate him had failed. Authorities in neighbouring Ukraine and Romania had found no trace of him. "The warrant for Mr Nesterovschi was issued in record time," Misail-Nichitin told TVR Moldova television. "Various operations are proceeding, though I cannot speak of them. Absolutely all hypotheses are being analysed. The police are examining every single version to find Nesterovschi." She said police had considered whether Nesterovschi, who was granted Russian citizenship as his sentence was being announced, was hiding in the Russian embassy, but that had proved to be untrue. Nesterovschi was accused of accepting money from a criminal group to finance the activities of Shor's "Victory" bloc. Lawmaker Irina Lozovan, awaiting sentencing on similar charges, has also disappeared. Shor was sentenced to 15 years in prison two years ago in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from the banking system in Moldova's "theft of the century" in 2014-15. He fled initially to Israel then to Moscow, now has Russian citizenship and has evaded all attempts to extradite him. Moldovan courts have banned political parties linked to Shor, who has organised noisy anti-government protests in the capital. Moldova's pro-European president, Maia Sandu, has spearheaded a drive for Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, to secure European Union membership by 2030. She denounces Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accuses the Kremlin of trying to unseat her.
Reuters
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Moldova issues wanted notice for missing pro-Russian lawmaker
CHISINAU, March 22 (Reuters) - Moldovan authorities have issued an international wanted notice for a missing pro-Russian member of parliament, who disappeared the day he was handed a 12-year jail sentence on corruption charges. A second pro-Russian lawmaker, due to be sentenced next week, has also disappeared, officials said. The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Both are associates of Ilan Shor, a fugitive business magnate also jailed for his part in a mass fraud scheme who now heads a political party from exile in Moscow. Moldova's pro-European government accuses him of trying to destabilise the ex-Soviet state. The warrant for lawmaker Alexandr Nesterovschi was issued late on Friday and Interior Minister Daniela Misail-Nichitin said attempts to locate him had failed. Authorities in neighbouring Ukraine and Romania had found no trace of him. "The warrant for Mr Nesterovschi was issued in record time," Misail-Nichitin told TVR Moldova television. "Various operations are proceeding, though I cannot speak of them. Absolutely all hypotheses are being analysed. The police are examining every single version to find Nesterovschi." She said police had considered whether Nesterovschi, who was granted Russian citizenship as his sentence was being announced, was hiding in the Russian embassy, but that had proved to be untrue. Nesterovschi was accused of accepting money from a criminal group to finance the activities of Shor's "Victory" bloc. Lawmaker Irina Lozovan, awaiting sentencing on similar charges, has also disappeared. Shor was sentenced to 15 years in prison two years ago in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from the banking system in Moldova's "theft of the century" in 2014-15. He fled initially to Israel then to Moscow, now has Russian citizenship and has evaded all attempts to extradite him. Moldovan courts have banned political parties linked to Shor, who has organised noisy anti-government protests in the capital. Moldova's pro-European president, Maia Sandu, has spearheaded a drive for Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries, to secure European Union membership by 2030. She denounces Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accuses the Kremlin of trying to unseat her.
