The League of Towns and Municipalities (LOC) party denies that it is the pro-European political party to be taken over by fugitive former MP Ilan Shor, although its candidate for Chisinau mayor was detained a day ago.

The reaction comes after former MP Arina Spătaru said that “the pro-European party, which was to be taken over by Shor, referred to by prosecutors in their report in parliament is the Party of the League of Cities and Communes, in which Mihail Bagas, Shor’s childhood friend, was supposed to take the lead”.

“As Spătaru is well aware, the leadership of a party is chosen by its decision-making bodies, the supreme forum being the Congress. For someone from Shor’s entourage or anyone else to “take over” the leadership of the LOC, a majority vote of the delegates appointed by the party organizations would have been needed, which would never have been accepted by the members of the pro-European party.

Through such tendentious and slanderous statements, Arina Spătaru and those behind her continue to use Plahotniucist methods of politics and try to insinuate that the whole party is a project of the fugitive Shor,” reads the statement published on Friday, September 22, by the LOC party.

Thus, the party’s representatives declare that the League of Cities and Communes is a “popular political project”, initiated by local elected officials and for local communities, which offered its political platform to several candidates in these elections, but has no connection with the alleged illegal actions that were or may have been committed by them.

The League of Towns and Municipalities has asked Arina Spătaru to deny the “erroneous” information made today.

“In such cases, the responsibility is personal and not collective, and Arina Spătaru’s slanderous statements are damaging to the image of the political party League of Cities and Municipalities and are qualified by us as false attacks, aimed at bringing political dividends to some political actors frustrated by the rapid growth of the local teams of the LOC. Under these circumstances, the League of Cities and Municipalities, asks Arina Spătaru to provide a denial and a public clarification of the erroneous statement made today. Otherwise, the League of Cities and Municipalities reserves the right to take Ms Arina Spătaru to court”, according to the quoted source.

At the same time, a press conference has been announced for Monday 25 September to provide more details on the “concerted insinuations launched in the public space”.

“I am Victoria Bogatu, undercover agent”. The former deputy, who was bought by Shor for about $55,000 to give him another party, talks about collaborating with prosecutors

Arina Spătaru, chairwoman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), held a press conference on Friday, 22 September, where she spoke about the undercover investigation she took part in into Ilan Shor’s illegal financing of political parties.

The LOC candidate in the Chisinau elections, Mihail Bagas, was detained on Thursday 21 September by the National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) on charges of illegal party financing and corruption on a large scale.

“189,200 lei, 25,415 euros, $2,430 and 4,500 Swiss francs”. Searches at more than 20 locations in criminal cases involving illegal financing of political parties