Maia Sandu, the pro-European president of Moldova, told the Financial Times in an interview that the Wagner paramilitary group in Russia was the main driving force behind an attempt to incite a coup against her.

In an interview with the Financial Times during the European Union's European Political Community summit in Spain, Sandu said that the attempt to topple her was supported by late Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

She added that Moscow continued to make efforts to destabilize Moldova, a nation situated between Romania and Ukraine and an EU member, particularly through smuggling money into Moldova in order to buy votes in municipal elections scheduled for next month.

"The information that we have is that it was a plan prepared by (Prigozhin’s) team," Sandu told the FT in reference to the alleged coup, adding that the group was trying to get anti-government protests, held periodically since last year, to turn violent.

"The situation is really dramatic and we have to protect ourselves."

In February, Sandu said that Russia was attempting to overthrow the government of Moldova by using the unrest as cover.

Such assertions have been refuted by Russia's foreign ministry, which has also in the past charged Moldova with having an anti-Russian agenda.

She and other political figures emphasize the country has been under constant pressure, notably with regard to the cost and payment for Russian energy supplies. Moscow also exerts influence through a pro-Russian separatist enclave, Transdniestria, in Moldova's east.

Since Sandu's 2020 election, Moldova has denounced Russia's war in Ukraine and become a candidate for EU membership.

Prigozhin, whose mercenaries were instrumental in Russia's recent conquest of portions of eastern Ukraine, briefly rebelled against Vladimir Putin in June. Two months later, he was killed in a plane crash.

“Russia is going to increase its pressure on Moldova,” Sandu told the FT. “They tried energy and they failed. They tried to overthrow the government and they failed. And now they are trying massive interference in our elections, using a lot of money.”

This week, the Moldovan parliament took action to prevent Ilan Shor's associates from running in the election. Shor was sentenced in absentia in April to 15 years in prison for fraud and his party was banned by the Constitutional Court.

Despite having a majority in parliament, Sandu's PAS party faces opposition to its pro-European policies across the nation of 2.5 million.

Sandu claimed that Moldova's security agencies had discovered at least 20 million euros ($21.2 million) in Russian money entering the nation and that the actual amount may be higher.

Moldovans, she said, were entering the country with "bank cards that were issued in Dubai...they just distribute thousands of cards ...bank cards to people they wanted to bribe."

According to Moldovan police, thousands of bank cards issued in Dubai that were intended to be delivered to Shor's allies have been recovered.

"This is using bank cards instead of suitcases or black bags full of cash," Veronica Dragalin, head of Moldova's Anti-corruption prosecutors, told reporters. "We are talking here about money laundering, a much more serious crime."

Image source: AFP