The Governor of the Gagauz autonomous region, Evghenia Guțul, was detained on Tuesday evening at Chișinău International Airport while allegedly attempting to leave the territory of the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.

The detention comes in the context of searches carried out on Tuesday morning in Orhei by officers of the National Anticorruption Center and prosecutors, as part of a criminal case related to the 2023 Gagauzia governor elections. The case involves allegations of illegal financing of electoral candidates, document forgery, and false statements.

Last week, two pro-Russian MPs disappeared: Alexandr Nesterovschi, who had just learned he was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and Irina Lozovan, who was due to receive her sentence on March 31 and was under a travel ban.