The problem resides not only in poverty. Poverty is the result of the very powerful kleptocracy existing in Moldova, of the political failures and depopulation, stated the executive director of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul” Igor Munteanu. “It happens because the Republic of Moldova is one of the countries that are most powerfully affected by the massive migration of the population. In a way, this created again a playing opportunity for this elite that I continue to insistently name kleptocratic,” Moldova’s ex-ambassador in Washington stated in an interview for Radio Free Europe that is quoted by IPN.
Asked about his recent visit to the United States, Igor Munteanu said this was made on the initiative of partners and of civil society activists. “We also have particular viewpoints when it is about the foreign policy and domestic policy and the subjects that equally bother American decision makers and think tanks in Washington and also think tanks in the Republic of Moldova and the academia in the Republic of Moldova are related to the political regime established in our region, in the Republic of Moldova in particular, which is called kleptocracy. This form of exercise of political power by consolidating extra-political elements and gathering of huge wealth in the hands of several singular groups that can later buy political loyalty, the press, political institutions is a process of globalization,” he stated.
According to the former ambassador, after the fall of the Communist regimes many people consider the globalization that covers all the nations, either they want it or not, will create market institutions in a functional economy and will stimulate the national elite’s appetite to integrate into global economy. Regrettably, this globalization didn’t bring only positive answers to society, even if economic integration is a positive result, but also an extraordinary instrument that is available to the political elites that are probably not prepared for the roles they should exercise in a democratic society and that used globalization as a method of extending and expanding their economic power.
“The obtaining of influences on the economy and the state and the taking over of control over properties that are valuable for the nation and for the given state are the first stage of this kleptocracy. It happens in the absence of complete lack of rules, rule of law and justice. This facilitates the primary appropriation of money and possessions. Later each happy kleptocrat must transfer, transform and send this money to a safe area,” stated Igor Munteanu.
He also said that the Republic of Moldova is an important supplier of toxic money to the East and offshore jurisdictions, given that about US$ 30 billion of Russian funds, that could be identified by particular agencies that supervised these flows, was transited through Moldova without the judges who legalized these sources from the Russian Federation being held accountable. “Some of them were even promoted to politically protected posts. We have no certitude as to the recovery of the funds from the stolen US$ 1 billion, while those who were behind these financial crimes hold public posts, are protected again by the same political camarilla and create this mechanism of impunity as, if they were successful, why others shouldn’t be,” noted the director of the Institute for Development and Social Initiative.
