Ministry of Justice requests suspension of 'Moldova Mare' Party for 1 year following CEC funding concerns
The activity of the "Moldova Mare" Political Party may be restricted for a period of 12 months. This request was made by the Ministry of Justice to the Central Court of Appeal on Tuesday, September 30. In the meantime, the Ministry, led by Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, has also requested the implementation of precautionary measures until a decision is reached.
The Ministry of Justice's action is based on the notification from the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) on September 29, which found that the party led by Victoria Furtună, affiliated with the convicted Ilan Șor, benefited from illegal financing from the Russian Federation during the electoral campaign.
*"The CEC concluded that, through its actions, the Political Party "Moldova Mare" committed serious violations of the democratic electoral process. According to information obtained from law enforcement agencies, the Political Party "Moldova Mare" benefited from external financing from the Russian Federation, through Promsvyazbank - an associate of the "Șor" group." This is contrary to the legislation on party financing in the electoral campaign, which categorically prohibits external financing, direct or indirect,” the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.
The institution also states that the links established between the party, Promsvyazbank, and the “Shor” group constitute “a clear case of illegal external financing” and a “*direct threat” to the integrity of the electoral process.
Victoria Furtună, leader of the “Moldova Mare” Party, did not respond to Teleradio-Moldova’s calls to comment on the Ministry of Justice’s request to the court.
We remind you that on September 28, the Chisinau Court of Appeal rejected the “Moldova Mare” Party’s appeal against the CEC’s decision of September 26, by which the party was excluded from the electoral race.
The decision was made after analyzing several notifications submitted by the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS), the National Anticorruption Center (CNA), the General Inspectorate of Police (IGP), as well as the European Social Democratic Party (PSDE), which also referred to a journalistic investigation published by the Nordnews portal.
