CHISINAU, Moldovan
\nMoldova\u2019s pro-European President, Maia Sandu, said Russia\u2019s Wagner paramilitary force was the main force behind an attempt to foment a coup against her, she told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday.
\nSandu, interviewed by the Financial Times during the European Union\u2019s European Political Community summit in Spain, said Wagner\u2019s late leader Yevgeny Prigozhin stood behind the bid to overthrow her.
\nShe also said Moscow remained engaged in attempts to destabilize the country lying between Ukraine and EU member Romania, notably by funnelling money into Moldova to bribe voters in next month\u2019s local elections.
\n\u201cThe information that we have is that it was a plan prepared by (Prigozhin\u2019s) team,\u201d Sandu told the FT in reference to the alleged coup, adding that the group was trying to get anti-government protests, held periodically since last year, to turn violent.
\n\u201cThe situation is really dramatic and we have to protect ourselves.\u201d
\nSandu accused Russia in February of plotting a coup against Moldova\u2019s government by exploiting protests.
\nRussia\u2019s foreign ministry has rejected such claims and previously accused Moldova of pursuing an anti-Russian agenda.
\nShe and other leaders point to longstanding pressure on the country, particularly in terms of pricing and payment for Russian energy supplies. Moscow also exerts influence through a pro-Russian separatist enclave, Transdniestria, in Moldova\u2019s east.
\nSince Sandu\u2019s 2020 election, Moldova has denounced Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine and become a candidate for EU membership.
\nPrigozhin, whose mercenaries played a major role in capturing parts of eastern Ukraine for Russia in the past year, staged a brief mutiny against Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in June. He was killed in plane crash two months later.
\n\u201cRussia is going to increase its pressure on Moldova,\u201d Sandu told the FT. \u201cThey tried energy and they failed. They tried to overthrow the government and they failed. And now they are trying massive interference in our elections, using a lot of money.\u201d
\nMoldova\u2019s parliament this week took steps to keep allies of fugitive businessman Ilan Shor from contesting the election. Shor was sentenced in absentia in April to 15 years in prison for fraud and his party was banned by the Constitutional Court.
\nSandu\u2019s PAS party has a majority in parliament but faces competition in towns and cities against her pro-European policies throughout the country of 2.5 million.
\nSandu said Moldova\u2019s intelligence services had detected at least 20 million euros ($21.2 million) in Russian finance coming into the country and suggested the true figure was higher.
\nMoldovans, she said, were entering the country with \u201cbank cards that were issued in Dubai…they just distribute thousands of cards …bank cards to people they wanted to bribe.\u201d
\nMoldovan police on Friday said they had seized thousands of bank cards issued in Dubai due to be given to Shor\u2019s allies.
\n\u201cThis is using bank cards instead of suitcases or black bags full of cash,\u201d Veronica Dragalin, head of Moldova\u2019s Anti-corruption prosecutors, told reporters. \u201cWe are talking here about money laundering, a much more serious crime.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHISINAU, Moldovan Moldova\u2019s pro-European President, Maia Sandu, said Russia\u2019s Wagner paramilitary force was the main force behind an attempt to foment a coup against her, she told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday. Sandu, interviewed by the Financial Times during the European Union\u2019s European Political Community summit in Spain, said Wagner\u2019s late […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-360271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n