Over 300 young people from the Republic of Moldova, trained to cause election chaos: 88 raids throughout the country and 1.6 million lei confiscated
More than 300 young people from the Republic of Moldova were trained in camps in the Russian Federation, as well as in guerrilla camps in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the aim of causing mass destabilization and disorder around the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on joining the European Union from October 20. They also received specialized instructions on the use of drones equipped with explosives and pipe bombs, between September and mid-October, by foreigners with links to private military groups such as "Wagner" and "Ferma", said Alexandru Musteata, head of the Intelligence and Security Service, Alexandru Musteață.
"Starting with May 2024, the fugitive oligarch Ilan Şor, under the cover of the NGO "Eurasia", financed the movement of groups of young people to Moscow. Some of them were selected for training in guerrilla camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Serbia. (…) The training included tactics of national division as well as the destabilization of the constitutional order. Provocateurs were trained in training camps who were going to organize protests and participate in violent, radical and even extremist actions in the context of the elections", said the head of the SIS, Alexandru Musteață.
In all, since the beginning of this year, more than 300 young people from our country have been trained, regularly, outside the country for destabilizing actions. The head of the General Police Inspectorate, Viorel Cernăuțeanu, stated that the young people went to Moscow in coordinated groups of 20 people to be trained to fly drones and use pyrotechnic products, especially during mass actions, to induce panic and create challenges. They were involved, including, in vandalizing some state institutions, said the head of the IGP.
The SIS, in collaboration with the IGP and PCCOCS, identified 13 foreigners who had the roles of coordinators, coaches and instructors, said the police.
The list of foreigners who trained Şor's men for destabilization, made public by SIS.
According to the data collected by SIS, among the coordinators of these actions are foreign citizens GOLOSKOKOV Konstantin and POTEPKIN Mikhail, the latter subject to international sanctions. We mention that POTEPKIN is known for his connections with PRIGOJIN Evghenii and the Russian organization "Ferma", which was involved, in 2023, in the financing and organization of destabilizing protest actions in the Republic of Moldova. He is responsible for carrying out actions of malignant influence worldwide, within the entity "AKSON".
Likewise, SIS managed to identify 11 other foreigners who assisted with the training camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, acting as instructors, as follows:
- LUCHNIKOV Aleksandr
- MOSKVIN Serghei
- SOLOVICH Sergey
- BEKER Andrei
- VOLKHONSKI Aleksandr
- GRUNICHEV Aleksey
- BUBNOV Gheorgii
- VILDIAEV Vladimir
- RUSSU Danila
- NEKLYUDOV Dmitrii
- ANGELOV Mircho
We point out that ANGELOV Mircho, in addition to being one of the instructors of the guerrilla camps for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, was also involved in carrying out acts of vandalism, such as the sabotage of several ATMs in Chisinau, in order to provoke panic in society, in spring of the current year.
Șor's plan to destabilize the situation in the Republic of Moldova - revealed
On Wednesday, October 16, law enforcement officers raided 88 addresses on this case, in several localities in the North, Center and South of the country, announced today the head of the IGP, head of the SIS and the interim head of the PCCOCS, on this case. The searches targeted the young people who attended the training - a large part in their 20s - both boys and girls. The IGP states that they are cooperating with the investigation.
Following the searches, the law enforcement officers raised over one million 600 thousand lei, in different currencies - euros, US dollars, hryvnias and lei - intended for the protests that were going to degenerate into mass disturbances. Also, other objects intended for the organization of mass disorder were seized: lists of activists, leaflets, portable computers, high-performance phones, clothes with various inscriptions, electronic signatures that do not belong to the persons searched, bank cards from the banks of the Russian Federation, as well as boarding tickets for the Chisinau-Istanbul-Moscow plane, IGP announces.
Moreover, the law enforcement officers announce that evidence of the relationship of members of the criminal group with parties affiliated with the former party of Ilan Șor, declared unconstitutional, was also found: contracts and identification cards of such a party. In addition, the stamp of a non-governmental organization was raised, as well as draft documents with the organizational measure of another such organization.
At the moment, four of the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, trained in the guerilla camps, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as from Serbia, were detained by the PCCOCS and placed in preventive detention for a period of 30 days. The money, as well as other seized objects, will be attached to the criminal file, and after the completion of the investigations, it will be sent for examination in court by the PCCOCS.
Investigations continue, during which the persons benefit from the presumption of innocence, under the law.
Youngsters are advised to avoid involvement in illegal actions
Law enforcement officers warn young people to avoid involvement in actions that go beyond the legal framework of a peaceful protest and that could degenerate into mass disorder, accompanied by the application of violence against individuals, pogroms, arson, destruction of property, the use of firearms or other objects used as weapons, as well as violent or armed resistance to representatives of the authorities - actions punishable by up to 8 years in prison.
We remind you, as a result of another criminal case sent to court by PCCOCS prosecutors, on September 30, 2024, 7 men were sentenced to prison.
