Mihai Popșoi: "Halting illicit transfers is key to ending Russia's vote influence scheme"
The most challenging aspect of eliminating the Russian-funded scheme that influences or purchases the votes of citizens in the Republic of Moldova is stopping illicit cryptocurrency transfers. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi stated this in an interview with Euronews Romania. He mentioned that the authorities are collaborating with partners from the European Union, the United States, and other jurisdictions to enhance the capabilities of institutions to tackle this issue.
Mihai Popșoi stated, "This is an attempt to undermine the legitimate and fair democratic process through fraud, vote buying, and electoral corruption. Those who orchestrate these networks of influence distribute cryptocurrencies to their members. However, our structures are well-established in the field, enabling us to effectively disavow these networks, with our success rate continuously improving, thanks to advancing technology and information exchange with international partners."
He said that if the Kremlin's tactics—such as propaganda, information warfare, cryptocurrency transfers, and cyberattacks—prove effective in the Republic of Moldova, they will likely be employed in other countries as well.
"It is in the interest of all our partners to assist us in becoming as adept as possible at countering these tactics in Moldova. We aim to ensure they do not succeed here and are dismantled when attempted, thus minimising their negative impact elsewhere," Popșoi emphasized.
We remind you that parliamentary elections in the Republic of Moldova are scheduled for September 28. This decision was made following a vote by 57 deputies during the plenary session on April 17. The list of countries eligible for postal voting in the parliamentary elections will expand to include Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan. The government has approved a draft law to amend the Law on the partial implementation of postal voting, which was submitted by a group of deputies. Other significant proposed amendments include extending the voting period and allowing voter identification through biometric means.
