Washington, Kiev and the presidential election in Moldova

Pro-Russian opposition candidate

“Oligarchs captured the state.” So said Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland of the current situation in Moldova, in an interview with The New York Times a year ago. This was due to the concentration of power in one man’s hands — oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who for many years has been the unofficial leader of the country.

For voters in Moldova, there are two important principles determining their sympathy: the geopolitical orientation of the candidates and the degree of their proximity to Plahotniuc. Politicians are trying to distance themselves from the controversial oligarch, vying to accuse each other of having links with the “great and terrible.” But for those who really are not connected with him, criticism comes at the price of retaliation. 

Usatii, meanwhile, works as the mayor of Balti, where he was elected with a record (for Moldova) 73 percent of the vote. But for a while the city is beheaded: to avoid arrest, Usatii left for Moscow immediately after the court decision. The capital of Russia is the most expected destination for a political exile with his program. During his term, Balti signed a sister city agreement with Nizhny Novgorod, areas of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and one of the campaign promises of “Our Party” was a referendum about the geopolitical path of Moldova.

“Plahotniuc told me the following: Get half a million dollars and leave the country for a few months for health reasons. I am preparing one of the greatest frauds in the history of the country for the presidential election – I quote. Either you leave the country and come back later, or I will destroy you and another opposition politician on the right, Andrei Nastase, before the new year,” said Usatii Wednesday at a press conference in Moscow.

Pro-European opposition candidate

The “destruction” of Andrei Nastase, who until last week was a candidate for president of Moldova, was not long in coming. A year ago, prominent lawyer Nastase led the “Dignity and Truth” Platform – a pro-European party that arose from street protests in Chisinau.

Its success was the result of criticism of the authorities, pro-European rhetoric and support from the channel “TV Magazine,” funded by the émigré businessmen Victor and Viorel Topa. A few years ago, when Moldova’s “captured law enforcement agencies” filed a criminal case against them, their lawyer was Andrei Nastase.

Last week, Nastase received a call from the Ukrainian National Police in the Odessa region and was invited in for questioning — “for now, as a witness.”

“I never had any business in Ukraine in general or Odessa in particular, my law practice has never been connection with that country. … The call from Odessa was absolutely incomprehensible to me. They declared that they wanted to see me as a witness in a case –mysteriously stressing, so far, just as the witness. At the same time, they refused to provide even minimal information.

“However, a few days ago I received information from Ukraine. Honestly, I thought that Plahotniuc had exhausted all of his ugly methods in the struggle with me. But what I read on one website shocked me. Someone in your country, using the police, is trying to fabricate a dirty and false case of pedophilia against my businessman friend, and at the same time to immerse me in this shit,” Nastase told “Strana.”

“Strana” confirmed with police in Odessa that Nastase had been summoned.

“I can’t comment on the article, because it may harm the investigation. Yes, the fact is, he was contacted by the staff of the Investigative Department of the Police in the Odessa region, and invited to appear before the investigator to testify as a witness. [On the matter of abuse of minors], I can’t confirm,” said the press service of the department, adding that in case of failure to appear, Nastase will not be declared wanted.

It’s not the first time law enforcement bodies of Ukraine have played this role in combatting the Moldovan opposition. This summer, banker Vyacheslav Plato was arrested in Ukraine and extradited to Moldova — despite the presence of Ukrainian citizenship (and Ukraine, as we know, will not extradite its citizens). Shortly before, Plato stated that there was undeniable evidence of Plahotniuc’s involvement in the so-called “theft of the century” — the most high-profile political crime in Moldova, during which nearly a billion dollars disappeared from the country’s banking system.

“Plahotniuc and Poroshenko are business partners for many years: they are co-owners of the ‘Detsky Mir’ store in Chisinau, they have been in business together since Soviet times, they have a factory for the production of confectionery products called ‘Bucuria,’ and many other businesses,” says Usatii.

“Today in the Odessa region, near Chisinau, there are proceedings against me, which Plahotniuc uses to avoid being accused of trying to destroy the opposition. At the invitation of [Crimean Prime Minister Sergey] Aksenov, I visited an economic forum in Crimea, and the first charge in one of my criminal cases is ‘an illegal visit to the occupied territory.’ And second — it turns out, I was also there doing some kind of subversive activities. Although I have been there many times before, unfortunately or fortunately, I do not visit Ukraine,” Usatii said at the press conference on Wednesday.

Despite political differences, on the issue of using Ukrainian law enforcement agencies to prosecute the Moldovan opposition, Nastase agrees with Usatii.

“I, unfortunately, have good reason to assume that the Ukrainian law-enforcement agencies are involved in the dirty political game and help carry out a political order to put pressure on me. The purpose is to get me to play by Plahotniuc’s rules in the current presidential campaign and future political processes,” Nastase told “Strana.”

Anyway, Nastase will not participate in these elections. After the publication of the candidates’ ratings, it became clear that the main contenders for victory in the presidential election were, from the left-wing forces, pro-Russian candidate Igor Dodon, and from the center-right, pro-European politician Maia Sandu. Last week, Nastase announced his withdrawal in favor of Sandu. The fight became even fiercer.

Candidate Maia Sandu

The campaign for the presidency revolves around the geopolitical vector, said a representative of the Center for Investigative Journalism, Victoria Dodon (no relation to the politician – Ed.). The highest-rated pro-European candidate was the ex-Minister of Education of Moldova, Maia Sandu. Prior to joining the government, Sandu worked as Advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank in Washington, DC, and was a coordinator of UN development programs.