Moldovan spy chief: Russia will try to interfere in 2025 parliamentary election, too

Russia plans to influence Moldova’s parliamentary election in 2025, the director of Moldova’s Security and Intelligence Service said on Thursday.

Alexandru Musteața gave the warning to members of parliament as he presented SIS’s report on Russian interference in the presidential election and the referendum on accession to the European Union organized by Chișinău in October.

According to Musteața, the Kremlin will use the same tactics in the upcoming vote.

“This strategy is based on political and electoral corruption, disinformation and manipulation, as well as street protests and unrest,” Musteața said, adding that Moldovan security services are increasing oversight of organizations in the country that might have a connection to Russia.

He noted that vote-buying was one of the main techniques Moscow used to get voters to cast their ballots against joining the EU in October’s referendum and against pro-Western President Maia Sandu. The pro-EU sides ultimately won in both cases.

According to investigators, a Moldovan fugitive oligarch, Ilan Shor, helped launder the funds intended to be used to bribe voters through a network of banks. Shor was the founder of a now-banned pro-Russian political party.

SIS’s report describes multiple methods used in the interference operation and notes Shor as the main actor of the criminal network Russia used to implement the plan.