The criminal group Shor is once again mobilizing its "army" of priests of the Moldovan Metropolitan Church of Moldova for this year's parliamentary elections, writes Deschide.MD. The editorial staff reports that it has obtained information that the NGO Evrazia, founded by Shor's former accountant Nelli Parutenko, is organizing new "pilgrimages" of clergymen, IPN reports.
This time the clerics will travel to Serbia in February-March. According to the cited source, the organizers have already talked with priests from several districts of Moldova. Those who traveled to Russia last year are in the focus of attention, and those who refused are being intimidated not to divulge information about these plans.
Although the scheme is similar to the "pilgrimages" to Moscow organized by Evrazia before the presidential elections and the referendum on Moldova's EU membership, from where clerics returned with PSB cards and promises of "financial aid", the criminal group has made some changes to better protect the priests from the dangers of legal punishment, writes Deschide.MD.
This time the priests will travel to Serbia with so-called "trusted volunteers". These are 2-3 people selected by each clergyman, who will travel with them and in whose names bank accounts will be opened in the Russian Federation for the transfer of money to the clergy.
These measures were taken after at least 20 clergymen of the Moldovan Metropolitanate were investigated by law enforcement officials last year after allegedly receiving money from the Russian Federation.
On the other side, the bishop of Soroca and Drochia, Ioan Mosnegutu, spokesman for the Moldovan Metropolitan, said he was not aware of any pilgrimage being prepared.
Between August and September 2024, hundreds of priests of the Moldovan Metropolitanate went to Moscow on "pilgrimages" organized by Ilan Shor and the Russian Patriarchate. There, the church leaders were served with expensive food and drinks, accepted gifts and received MIR cards on their return, to which money was then transferred monthly for "church maintenance" and salaries.
