According to a source cited by the Russian publication VChK-OGPU, a broad investigation is underway within the Russian FSB regarding the embezzlement of funds allocated in recent years for operations intended to ensure a favorable outcome for the Kremlin in the elections in the Republic of Moldova.
The checks were initiated by the new head of the Fifth Directorate of the FSB, Alexei Komkov, and his first deputy, Albert Stepyghin. Under the scrutiny of the investigation is the former first deputy of the directorate, Dmitry Miliutin, who coordinated the Moldovan directorate. He has already been questioned several times and risks being charged.
Another name targeted is Igor Ceaika, recently appointed deputy to the head of the federal agency Rossotrudnicestvo. According to the source, Ceaika would have had close ties with Miliutin and would have been directly involved in the embezzlement of funds. Among the people who could be targeted is also the Moldovan oligarch Ilan Șor, accused of having participated in the laundering and transfer of money from Russia to Moldova.
From the sentence recently pronounced in the Republic of Moldova in the case of Marina Tauber, close to Șor, it appears that starting with the year 2021, special couriers brought into the country about 8,000 dollars per trip, being paid 50 euros each. A witness stated that one of the payments was personally offered to him by the governor of Gagauzia, Evghenia Guțul.
Transfers were made through the PSB banking application and through cryptocurrency transactions. According to the investigation, structures associated with the PSB bank and the crypto projects Grinex and A7A5, used for the transit of funds coming from Russia, were involved in the scheme.
However, the new head of the FSB directorate believes that only a small part of the allocated sums actually reached the Republic of Moldova, the rest being embezzled along the way.