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Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The United States on Tuesday sanctioned two Moldovan oligarchs and several other entities for their involvement in corruption and attempts to interfere in Moldova's democratic elections. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Vladimir Plahotniuc, a Moldovan government official who directed his country's law enforcement to investigate his political opponents.
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"Plahotniuc also used Moldovan government officials as intermediaries to bribe law enforcement officials in order to maintain their loyalty and further cement his control over Moldova," the Treasury Department said in a statement. "In 2018, Plahotniuc ordered Moldovan government ministers to pass and implement proposals to increase financial incentives to law enforcement, to further buy their allegiance."
Ilan Shor, a Moldovan politician who was arrested for money laundering related to the 2014 theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks, was also sanctioned. Shor worked with Russian individuals to create an alliance to control Moldova's parliament before the 2021 elections, the Treasury Department said.
Shor also "worked with Moscow-based entities to undermine Moldova's EU bid as the vote for candidate status was underway," the Treasury Department added.
The United States also sanctioned several Russian nationals and companies for allegedly working as advisers to former Moldovan President Igor Dodon during the 2020 Moldovan presidential election.
In 2021 a member of the FSB worked to produce propaganda videos to influence the Moldovan electorate and increase participation of pro-Russian voters, the Treasury Department said.
"Today's designations reaffirm the U.S. commitment to tackling corruption as a first order national security threat and to promoting accountability for systemic efforts to undermine Moldova's democratic institutions and elections," Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement. "The United States will continue to hold accountable those threatening democracy abroad."
