EU sanctions pro-Russian oligarch over plan to ‘destabilize’ Moldova

The EU has imposed sanctions on a high-profile Moldovan politician who has led a series of protests in recent weeks against the country’s pro-Western government.

In a new list released Tuesday, Ilan Shor was named among five individuals who will face financial and travel restrictions “in view of actions destabilizing the Republic of Moldova.” A Russian plan to overthrow the Moldovan government was thwarted in February, officials in the country said.

According to the EU Council sanctions order, the Moldovan-Israeli businessman’s Shor Party “is involved in the payment and training of persons in order to provoke disorder and unrest.”

In April, a Moldovan court found Shor guilty of banking fraud to the tune of €254 million. Funds from that and his ties to Moscow are allegedly being used “to artificially create political unrest in the country.”

Also on the list is Marina Tauber, a Shor Party member of the Moldovan parliament who was detained earlier this month at the airport as she attempted to leave the country. She stands accused of illegally helping finance the pro-Moscow movement.

Others sanctioned include former police chief Gheorghe Cavcaliuc, politician Vladimir Plahotniuc and Russian businessman Igor Chaika, who stands accused of “funneling money” from Russia’s FSB security service to anti-government activists.

Shor and his political allies are among the key organizers of demonstrations against the government and President Maia Sandu since September last year, with Tauber having spoken at protest rallies. Protesters have reportedly clashed with police and several arrests have been made.

In February, Sandu announced Moldova had uncovered a Russian effort to stage a coup in the former Soviet Republic that would have included “sabotage and militarily trained people disguised as civilians to carry out violent actions, attacks on government buildings and taking hostages.” The warning followed a tip-off from security services in neighboring Ukraine.

Elected in 2020, Sandu has repeatedly condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and her country has been awarded EU candidate status.

In an interview with POLITICO last week following a major rally supporting Moldova’s EU membership application, the former World Bank economist said that Brussels should speed up the process for admitting it as a member state.

“Joining the EU is the best way to protect our democracy and our institutions,” she said. “I call on the EU to take a decision on beginning accession negotiations by the end of the year. We think we have enough support to move forward.”

However, according to the chair of the European Parliament’s delegation to the country, Romanian MEP Siegfried Mureșan, “Moldova cannot become a member of the EU with Russian troops on its territory.”

Around 1,500 of Moscow’s forces are stationed in the breakaway region of Transnistria, along the border with Ukraine, as part of a frozen conflict that followed the fall of the USSR.