HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Greetings from Chişinău! Here’s what’s happening this week: it’s our anniversary so we’re celebrating with a special e-paper edition of  ZdG! We’ll also be introducing the team members from our newsroom and sharing what readers say they love about our reporting. But first, this week’s feature brings you a case study of how Vladimir Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor managed to clean up their assets before Moldovan law enforcement initiated sequesters. ZdG’s Politics Editor examines how the results of Ukraine’s parliamentary elections continue an anti-oligarch trend in the region, while our Editor-in-Chief issues a warning about the dangers of party switchers. Looking back, Executive Director Alina Radu reflects on what ZdG has gained and lost during fifteen years of investigative reporting. In the Foreign Brief, we follow Prime Minister Sandu on her second trip to Brussels and give you all the updates on international financing and support for reforms. Plus, a breakdown of the latest report on reform implementation from the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, GRECO. We also share an exclusive interview with Moldova’s new Minister of Health, expert opinions on whether or not Plahotniuc will be extradited and a quick guide to ZdG’s top investigative stories since 2004. And as always, we have our roundup of news and analysis about Moldova from around the world. All of that and more in this week’s newsletter. Happy reading!  

THIS WEEK’S FEATURE

JUSTICE AFTER KROLL: A year and a half ago, Moldovan law enforcement authorities received a copy of the Kroll 2 report, which revealed a number of firms that had benefited from the 2014 bank fraud, robbing the country of billions of dollars. According to the report, these firms had ties to Moldova’s leading oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, as well as businessman and politician Ilan Shor – both of whom recently fled abroad and have yet to be brought to justice. In the meantime, Plahotniuc has managed to liquidate one of the companies in question, and alienate some of the most luxurious properties his other companies owned. Shor was also able to alienate companies named in the report before law enforcement authorities sequestered these holdings. In other words, Plahotniuc and Shor were given a window of opportunity to clean up their assets – and they both leapt at the opportunity. ZdG reveals how they did it in this week’s feature case study. 

FROM THE EDITORS

ANTI-OLIGARCH WIN: Anti-oligarch sentiment has fueled popular support for Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky, just as it swept out the Democratic Party Government in Moldova last month. On July 21, President Zelensky’s Servant of the People party won the Ukrainian parliamentary elections with nearly 44 percent of the vote. None of the long-established parties or nationalist formations were the preferred candidates of the Ukrainian people, with three of the five parties that made it into parliament being new to politics. But ZdG’s Politics Editor Petru Grozavu asks, is this really a win for the Ukrainian people? 

NEW POWER BEWARE: Chişinău may have a new government in power, but if they want to govern honestly, transparently and openly, they need to beware of the old order and their tricks. Moldovan politicians are known for switching sides – and those who fear they are on their way out may try sidling up to the new government. “Party switchers will always remain party switchers,”warns ZdG’s Editor-in-Chief, Aneta Grosu. 

15 YEARS OF ZDG: Since 2004, ZdG’s newsroom have been working against the odds to deliver investigative reporting on Moldova. What started out as a small team with little money and a limited circulation has grown into an investigative weekly that people rely on for independent reporting on corruption and rights violations. Looking back, Executive Director Alina Radu examines what ZdG has gained and lost over the past 15 years.

THE FOREIGN BRIEF

SANDU VISITS BRUSSELS: On July 24, Prime Minister Maia Sandu attended an in-depth meeting with members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs. “We want you to see Moldova differently as of now, as a country that wants to be like E.U. countries not in rhetoric but in what it does day to day,” said Prime Minister Sandu during her second visit to Brussels this month. Sandu underscored the importance of justice reforms, finding the perpetrators of the multi-billion dollar bank fraud, and implementing the E.U. Association Agreement. Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs MEPs reiterated their strong support for Moldova’s new government and the continuation of crucial rule of law reforms.

E.U. FINANCING: In Brussels, Prime Minister Maia Sandu and European Enlargement Commissioner  Johannes Hahn signed three financing agreement amounting to €40 million. The funds are aimed at tackling corruption, supporting community development and funding Moldova’s participation in various E.U. projects. On July 23, the European Commission reinstated budget support assistance to Moldova, with €14.5 million being dedicated to implementing the E.U.-Moldova free trade agreement, financing vocational education training and advancing the visa liberalization action plan.

JUSTICE REFORMS: Past attempts at reforming Moldova’s justice system have floundered despite international support, but Prime Minister Sandu is reassuring the country’s international partners that this time things will change. “Our objective is to irreversibly reform justice and ensure the independence of state institutions,” the Prime Minister said during a forum on justice reform in Chişinău on July 23. The U.S. Ambassador to Moldova, Dereck J. Hogan, expressed his country’s willingness to expand their support for judicial development, including reforming the penitentiary system and improving access to legal assistance. “We, as international partners, were disappointed when we saw that the reforms were not being implemented,” added the Chief of the E.U. Delegation to Chişinău, Peter Michalko, “We will continue to try to change this situation.” 

CORRUPTION PREVENTION: The Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, GRECO, is calling on the Moldovan authorities to step up efforts aimed at preventing corruption among members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. In a new report published on July 24, GRECO evaluated the degree to which anti-corruption reforms had been implemented since 2016, noting that the country has only complied with four of the anti-corruption body’s 18 recommendations. Read the full report here.

ZDG INVESTIGATES

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: “I will declare another war – one on corruption and informal payments,” said Ala Nemerenco, Moldova’s new Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protections. The new Health Minister has already set her top three priorities, making plans to pay salaries, invest in human capital and improve the quality of medicines. But will this be enough to tackle corruption and hold Moldova’s  health care professionals accountable? ZdG investigates the future of reforms to Moldova’s health care system in this exclusive interview.

FINDING PLAHOTNIUC: Moldova’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Andrei Năstase, has requested that the Prosecutor General’s Office issue an arrest warrant for former Democratic Party leader Vlad Plahotniuc. Along with Prime Minister Sandu, Năstase is calling for an international search for the oligarch on charges of money laundering and usurping the state. But will Plahotniuc be extradited and serve jail time? ZdG asks the experts.

BEST OF THE BEST: For the past fifteen years ZdG has been investigating corruption and breaking Moldova’s biggest stories. To celebrate our fifteenth anniversary, we bring you a roundup of our top investigative reporting. 

MOLDOVA IN WORLD NEWS

BRUSSELS VS MOSCOW: With political and geopolitical changes happening fast, the European Union is facing new challenges in Moldova – and so is Russia. Kremlin friendly President Igor Dodon is aiming for re-election in 2020, so for Balkan Insight, Madalin Necsutu examines whether or not his ties to Moscow really benefit  Chişinău. Meanwhile, for OpenDemocracy, Mihai-Razvan Croman explains why “the orientation of EU foreign policy will be crucial for the future trajectory of Moldova.”

RULE OF LAW: The Parliament of Moldova has elected two new constitutional court judges. The remaining four judges have yet to be appointed to replace the six who stepped down in June following accusations of politically motivated decision making in favour of the then ruling Democratic Party. Meanwhile, Moldovan law enforcement authorities have issued a national arrest warrant for businessman and politician Ilan Shor for his involvement in the billion dollar bank fraud of 2014. For more on legal accountability, check out Moldova’s standing in the 2019 Rule of Law Index from the World Justice Project. 

RUSSIAN LAUNDROMAT: The German Marshall Fund of the United States examines the most important lessons from the Russian Laundromat –  a five-year financial scheme that allegedly saw at least $20 billion sent from Russian banks to be “cleaned” through Moldindconbank in Moldova. This money was then sent to banks around the world, putting a small bank from a small country at the center of a global scam. 

NAFTOGAZ: Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz is hoping to sign an agreement with Moldova (“in accordance with European rules”) that would allow for gas imports from Europe to be transmitted and stored using Ukrainian infrastructure. “The use of Ukrainian storage facilities guarantees our neighbor’s energy security and protects them from Gazprom’s unpredictable and politically motivated behavior,” wrote the head of the board of Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolyev. A new contract between Moldovagaz and Russia’s Gazprom is set to begin in 2020. 

WINE COUNTRY: Why isn’t Moldova more well known for its wines? Forbes has the answer. Here’s what you need to know about Moldova’s 100,00 hectares of vines and the country’s long history of wine making – just in time for planning your summer vacation. 

SPOTTED THIS WEEK

MEDIA FREEDOM: The OSCE’s Representative on Media Freedom, Harlem Desire, appeared before U.S. Congress on July 25, to assess the “fragile state of media freedom within the OSCE region.” While in Washington, Mr. Desire met with representatives from Freedom House to discuss media freedom developments in Moldova, Ukraine and other countries in Europe and Eurasia. 

MEET THE TEAM: You may already have heard about the team behind ZdG’s English language newsletter, but to celebrate our fifteenth anniversary, let us introduce you to the rest of the newsroom! ZdG’s team members in Chişinău drew lots and wrote introductions for each other, so our readers can get to know all of them a little bit better.

SHARING THE LOVE: On July 19, ZdG hosted an international conference to mark our fifteenth anniversary. Journalists and media managers from other countries in the region came together with diplomats and experts on media, transparency and anti-corruption to help us celebrate fifteen years of investigative reporting on Moldova. To mark the occasion, we asked our readers to share what they love about ZdG – here’s what they said in response. 

Thank you for your continued interest! To keep up with our Moldova coverage throughout the week, you can follow us on Twitter @ZiarulDe or at zdg.md/eng for our latest stories in English. More subscription options coming soon. Until next week!– Daniela Bechet,  Cristina Carmanu, Maksym Eristavi, Eilish Hart and others from the ZdG Newsroom. Created with support from the Russian Language News Exchange.