Alexandru Bălan, the former deputy chief of the Information and Security Service, convicted for attempting to disclose state secrets, has been pardoned to be transferred to Belarus as part of an international exchange of individuals, announces Maia Sandu.
According to the head of state, the decision is part of a complex operation in which the Republic of Moldova managed to bring home two Moldovan citizens, employees of the SIS, who were held captive in Russia. In exchange for them, the Moldovan authorities released two people requested by the Russian side: a citizen of the Russian Federation, Nina Popova, and Alexandru Bălan.
“I thank President Trump for his involvement and that of the US administration in the success of this action. I thank all partners – from the USA, Poland, and Romania, for their involvement at every stage of the process and for the support given to our authorities,” mentioned Maia Sandu.
The President clarified that Balan was specifically pardoned to be able to leave the Republic of Moldova and reach Belarus, in the context of the exchange agreement negotiated over several months. The head of state described the operation as “a gain” for the Republic of Moldova, emphasizing that the authorities’ priority was the rescue and repatriation of the two SIS officers, who are now on their way home.
According to two sources who requested anonymity, discussions about a possible exchange began at the end of February – beginning of March 2026, reports IPN. In total, Moldova, Russia, the USA, Poland, Belarus, and Romania were involved in the large-scale operation.
In the exchange, Balan was traded for a Polish citizen (presumed to be the journalist and activist Andrzej Poczobut), as well as for one of the two employees of the Moldovan special services detained in Russia in 2025. The second employee, according to sources, was exchanged for the wife of a GRU agent (Main Intelligence Directorate of Russia), who had been held in Penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau.
Bălan was extradited from Romania to the Republic of Moldova based on a request from the Ministry of Justice and a court decision from April 15th. Despite the pronounced sentence, the authorities in Chișinău initially did not consider the actual execution of the punishment on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. After extradition, Bălan was pardoned by President Maia Sandu, subsequently he was deprived of the citizenship of the Republic of Moldova and handed over to the Russian Federation.
Its exact location is currently unknown. From Penitentiary No. 13, he was transported through Chisinau International Airport to Poland, and from there he will be taken to Moscow.
The former deputy chief of SIS, Alexandru Balan, was detained in September 2025 in Romania, where he is being investigated in a case of treason, being accused of having transmitted information to KGB agents from Belarus. The courts in Romania approved his extradition to the Republic of Moldova, after on April 15, the Chișinău Court sentenced him in absentia to one year and six months in prison for attempting to disclose state secrets.
Last week, Alexandru Balan was extradited to the Republic of Moldova and placed in detention at Penitentiary No. 13.
