Protestors Urge Moldovan President’s Resignation amid Banking Scandal

Tens of thousands of Moldovans call for the head of President Nicolae Timofti as his cabinet contends with a mounting banking scandal, which has tarnished the reputation of Europe’s poorest nation, according to AFP. Moldova was once a former Soviet state but has gravitated closer to the European Union through an association agreement, much to the chagrin of Russia. Moldova sits between Ukraine and Romania.

Tens of thousands of Moldovans call for the head of President Nicolae Timofti as his cabinet contends with a mounting banking scandal, which has tarnished the reputation of Europe’s poorest nation, according to AFP. Moldova was once a former Soviet state but has gravitated closer to the European Union through an association agreement, much to the chagrin of Russia. Moldova sits between Ukraine and Romania.

Protesters marching on the capital of Chisinau also demand the resignations of officials from the offices of the central bank and the attorney general, and they called for new elections. Over a billion dollars have gone missing from various banks, equating to one-eighth of the nation’s GDP. The corruption scandal hit many citizens on a personal level as the missing funds spur inflation and a lower standard of living. The average Moldovan family lives on $300 a month. The government used cash reserves to cover the losses, and the scandal lowered the value of the country’s currency, the leu.

Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet stated he intends to renew efforts in finding the money, and even though the government is not aware of the exact location, investigators suspect the transfer of the funds abroad into various bank accounts, including Russian banks. The money in question came from Unibank, the Social Bank and the Savings Bank.

The money vanished before parliamentary elections in November 2014, forcing the banks under the jurisdiction of the National Bank of Moldova. Investigators suspect the fraud reached its peak in November 2014 but has gone unchallenged since 2009, with many top officials complicit in the crime.

The vanishing money exposed the deep-rooted corruption entrenched in Moldovan politics, where a few oligarchs control different sectors of the economy. Three parties contentiously rule Moldova after years of communist governance: the Liberals, the Democrats and the Liberal Democrats. Oligarch Vlad Filat leads the Liberal Democrats, and he ruled as prime minister from 2009 to 2013, until separate corruption scandal brought him down, notes the Moscow Times. Vladimir Plahotniuc is the country’s richest oligarch and is notoriously at odds with Filat.

The best description of Moldova’s political system is a massive game board where a few oligarchs vie for power as the rest of the population suffers. The oligarchs receive most of the protest rage, many of whom are pro-EU, including many protesters. The protesters are overall supportive of the EU, and many demonstrators support Western integration, with the exception of some leftists and certain portions of the country that would rather see closer relations with Russia.

Regardless of the East-West struggle, the latest bout of corruption is another factor that has shaken Western confidence in Moldova, and it may deter foreign investment in the future. Moldova has also suffered from the Russian recession, especially a decrease in remittance income from Russia.