The public organization “Moldova-Russia Business Union” led by Moldova’s ex-President Igor Dodon received about 5 million lei (approximately US$300,000) from Russia. As a result, the official incomes of the ex-President could grow tenfold, IPN reports, quoting a new journalistic investigations entitled “Rubles on Dodon” conducted by RISE Moldova and the Dossier Center of Russia.

The article says the money comes from businessmen affiliated with the Kremlin, among who is businessman Igor Chayka, who was put on the U.S. sanctions list “for involvement in consistent malign influence operations [of the Kremlin] in Moldova and systemic corruption of local politicians”.

“Dodon’s organization benefitted from several significant bank transfers from Russia even after Russia launched its extensive military aggression in Ukraine. Practically each money transfer coincided with anti-West or pro-Russians statements made by the ex-President of Moldova or his comrades. And they did this not for free. For example, the expenditure estimate for 2022 is 1.2 billion lei for PR for the Moldova-Russia Business Union (about 100,000 lei a month),” co-author of the investigation Vladimir Thorik, editor of the Russian language department of RISE Moldova, stated for IPN.

The documents obtained by RISE show the payroll of the ex-President’s NGO is 4.3 million lei. This is the largest section of the expenditure estimate for 2022.

“Each fourth leu was planned to be spent on Dodon’s salary that was approved at 202,000 lei, which is over €10,000 a month. This is ten times more than the average monthly pay collected by Dodon as President,” stated Vladimir Thorik.

“202,000 lei is almost half of the official income of the family of Dodon, which he declared together with his wife in 2021. The sum is equal to 20 average official salaries in Moldova or about 90 minimum pensions,” says the article.

In the Moldova-Russia Business Union, the ex-President was surrounded by persons affiliated with Russian political technologists, who were in contact with “FSB” and who were put on the U.S. sanctions list owing to the Kremlin’s operations in Moldova and attempts to interfere in elections in Moldova.

“In addition to the money “from Chayka”, the deputy head of the Moldova-Russia Business Union was sent from Russia to Chisinau as if to follow Dodon. This is Russian citizen Vadim Yurchenko. He wrote about himself that he was one of the managers of the Moscow company “MRSK Center” where, as we learned back in 2020 as part of the Kremlinovici investigation, Iuriy Gudilin also worked officially. This is the political technologist who travelled to the office of the Socialists during several election campaigns and is considered an ex-FSB officer by the U.S.,” related Vladimir Thorik.