The Shor group’s attempt to bring large amounts of money into the country through third parties falls under the law on smuggling in the interests of an organized criminal group, said PAS MP Vasile Grădinaru said, referring to the thwarting of the attempt to smuggle over 20 million lei into the country. He noted that the Prosecutor’s Office is examining the actions of representatives of the Shor group also through the angle of the Criminal Code article concerning treason, but conclusive evidence is needed to prove this crime, IPN reports.
On April 23, law enforcement officials announced the initiation of a criminal case on the smuggling of over 20 million lei brought to the country by passengers who arrived from Moscow by flights from Yerevan and Istanbul. The PAS said that the people were used by the Shor group to bring money into the country.
“What is very clear now is the smuggling in the interests of an organized criminal group. That’s possible to prove. But to prove that it is high treason, there must be other elements, namely that these actions were aimed at overthrowing the rule of law, the constitutional order. I don’t know if the law enforcement agencies have such information or not. Declaring something and committing actions to overthrow the constitutional order are two different things,” Vasile Grădinaru stated in the talk show “The Shadow Cabinet” on JurnalTV channel.
In the same connection, historian Octavian Țîcu said that seizing power in Moldova is Russia’s priority, the objective being part of a more complex plan of general destabilization of Ukraine.
“Moscow, in relation to Moldova, pursues two clear goals. The first is to win the elections by mobilizing this so-called opposition in Moscow. Also, Russia has prepared a much broader action plan. It is related to the general destabilization of Ukraine, especially through southern Bessarabia, and the creation of preconditions to proclaim both the Transnistrian region and Gagauzia independent republics. Moscow needs to show Europe and the world that no matter how much money you give it, Moldova remains Putinist anyway,” stated Octavian Țîcu.
Gagauz journalist Mikhail Sirkeli noted that the message sent by Moscow to the Gagauz, through the founding congress of the “Victory” bloc, is that Russia will soon win the war. This narrative is intensely promoted by the media in Gagauzia.
“Shor brought them to Moscow to show that he has a trophy and the trophy is Gagauzia. Russia started these actions as early as 2014, before the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU by organizing that referendum declared illegal. They want to show Putin’s supporters that “ours are close”, be patient and wait. With the event in Moscow, Russia sends the signal that “they are coming” and they should only wait. It is a signal for the Gagauz people and communities that support Putin. They also showed that they were preparing a collaborationist government in Moscow. Unfortunately, the citizens of Gagauzia have been living in propaganda for 30 years and the Republic of Moldova has done nothing to clean up the information space in Gagauzia,” stated Mikhail Sirkeli.
On April 21, in Moscow, an opposition bloc called “Victory” was created. The entity consists of satellite parties of the outlawed “Shor” party and is led by the fugitive politician, Ilan Shor, who was convicted by a final sentence in the Republic of Moldova.
