Moldovan authorities detain pro-Russian leader amid investigation into missing lawmakers – Firstpost

Police in ex-Soviet Moldova apprehended the head of the country’s pro-Russian Gagauz ethnic minority at Chisinau’s international airport late Tuesday, after the unexplained disappearance of two other sought pro-Russian politicians.

Eugenia Gutul, Gagauzia’s leader, or bashkan, has been detained in the capital for 72 hours, according to Angela Starinschi, a Moldovan Anti-Corruption Centre spokeswoman.

“The action is being taken within the context of a criminal case,” Starinschi told reporters.

Gagauzia, a 140,000-strong area in southern Moldova, is populated by ethnic Turks who want tight links with Russia, practise Orthodox Christianity, and have had strained relations with central authorities since Moldova’s independence in 1991.

Moldova, which has been part of the Russian empire, “greater Romania,” and the Soviet Union for the previous 150 years, is currently governed by President Maia Sandu, who is determined to entering the European Union by 2030.

Sandu condemns Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and accuses the Kremlin of attempting to depose her.

Gutul, a fierce critic of the government, was elected bashkan in 2023 with backing from fugitive business magnate Ilan Shor, who was sentenced in 2023 to 15 years in prison in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. She has met Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin while visiting Moscow.

Gutul, whose election as bashkan has never been recognised by Sandu, is due to be sentenced soon on charges of corruption and financing a political bloc led by Shor from exile in Russia.

Her detention follows the unexplained disappearance last week of pro-Russian parliamentarian Alexandr Nesterovschi on the day he was sentenced to 12 years in prison on similar corruption charges.

A second lawmaker, Irina Lozovan, awaiting a verdict on similar charges, has also disappeared.

Both were associates of Shor, who hopes to use his “Victory” bloc to win election of pro-Russian lawmakers in a parliamentary poll later this year.

Shor is accused by Moldovan authorities of funnelling large sums of money into the country to influence elections.