#Moldova political heritage to sink in crime

The latest events in the Moldova’s politics have drawn attention of the international community not only because of their rapid pace and uncertainty, but also due to the ongoing and ever-increasing penetration of crime in the Moldova’s political system that has become a phenomenon for the European country writes Olga Malik.

The criminal nature of the Vlad Plahotniuc’s (pictured) regime is beyond any doubt. However, his unlawful way of governing the country, which was formed when the so-called pro-European forces came to power in 2009, cannot be broken overnight. It was created gradually, with a whole layer of people thirsting for power and money and penetrating in all spheres of Moldova’s economy, finance, politics, public administration. Moldova’s oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc has been on top of this hierarchy system since 2016. In February 2019, after the dramatic change of power, Maia Sandu, the leader of ACUM, became the prime minister promising to clean up "the muck" while Plahotniuc fled the country and left to the USA. So did his ally - Ilan Shor – the politician accused of playing a key role in the so-called "grand theft" of a billion US dollars from the banking system. 

However, in October 2019, there appeared a new political figure on the Moldova’s political stage – Renato Usatii. Known for his criminal business in Russia back in the 2000s, he was engaged in the Moldova’s politics and initially had good relations with Vlad Plahotniuc. They were believed to be involved in the creation of one of the largest money-laundering channels in the country with Plahotniuc based in Moldova and Usatii residing in Russsia.

Shortly after Plahotniuc’s departure to the US, Usatii returned back to Moldova. He is now believed to be the Plahotniuc’s eyes and ears in Chisinau and his possible successor. As long as it continues, Moldova’s the only scenario is to become a hub of drug traffic, illegal trade and crime.

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