The European Council extended on April 26 the restrictive measures against those who attempt to destabilize, undermine or threaten the independence of the Republic of Moldova, including oligarchs Ilan Șor and Vladimir Plahotniuc.
The European Council decided to prolong the restrictive measures against those responsible for actions aimed at destabilizing, undermining or threatening the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova, which will be valid until April 29, 2025.
Currently, the EU sanctions apply to a total of 11 individuals: Ilan Șor, Gheorghe Cavcaliuc, Marina Tauber, Igor Ceaika, Vlad Plahotniuc, Chiril Guzun, Dmitri Miliutin, Arina Corșicova, Dumitru Chitoroagă, Maria Albot, Victor Petrov, Evghenia Guțul, Iuri Cuznețov, Nelli Parutenco, Ilia Uzun, and Mihail Vlah. The list also includes a civic organization – the Association of People with Stars “People’s Shield”.
EU support
The restrictive measures entail a ban on entry into the EU for the individuals concerned, as well as freezing their assets on EU territory.
“In its conclusions of March 21-22, 2024, the European Council reaffirmed its commitment to provide all relevant support to the Republic of Moldova in addressing the challenges arising from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and to strengthen the country’s resilience, security and stability in the face of destabilizing activities by Russia and its proxies,” the European Council said in a press release.
The EU restrictive measures were first introduced in April 2023, with the decision being made “at the request of the Republic of Moldova to target individuals responsible for supporting or implementing actions that undermine or threaten its sovereignty and independence, as well as democracy, the rule of law, stability or security of the country.”
Fugitive oligarchs
Currently, fugitive oligarch Ilan Șor, definitively sentenced to prison in the bank fraud case, is in Moscow. He is considered to be the Kremlin’s instrument in destabilizing Chisinau.
Meanwhile, oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is involved in several criminal investigations, including the bank fraud case, was put on the international wanted list by Interpol earlier this year, after the Moldovan judicial authorities requested a review of the refusal in this regard from 2020.
Both have been fugitives since the summer of 2019, the year in which the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), led by Vladimir Plahotniuc, lost power.