The police said that they initiated the procedures to obtain information about Moldovan users connected to the PSB (Promsvyazbank) system who received money from the Shor criminal group, IPN reports.

The General Police Inspectorate noted that the transfers were made through Promsvyazbank, a Russian bank under international sanctions for providing support to the Russian army in the war against Ukraine. The people were paid to vote for the indicated candidate and choose the “No” option in the referendum.

“We established the identity of all the persons who benefited from financial resources from the Russian Federation’s bank in order to exclude the use of cash and, respectively, to limit the range of information that the Police could have obtained,” reads a press release.

Under the law, the acceptance of money in exchange for votes is classed as passive corruption and the persons concerned face a fine of up to 37,500 lei.

The Inspectorate also said that those who cooperate with the investigation bodies and provide information will be exempt from paying fines, in accordance with the law.