Republic of Moldova - August 2025

Evghenia Gutsul, the leader of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for her role in funneling MLD 42.5 million (USD 2.5 million) from the exiled oligarch Ilan Shor to both finance the activities of his banned political party and to pay citizens to vote for it. Gutsul, who was also placed on a European Union sanctions list for her role in ‘destabilizing’ the region, allegedly at the behest of the Russian government, says she plans to appeal the conviction and that the charges are politically motivated. The judge overseeing the trial received pressure from unidentified people to rule in Gutsul’s favor, including receiving death threats if she did not comply, accompanied with photographs of corpses. Gutsul will, however, remain in office, as although a conviction is grounds for her removal, a separate legal proceeding is required. The sentence comes weeks before Moldova’s parliamentary election, scheduled on 28 September.

Sources: Ziarul de Gardă (1), Ziarul de Gardă (2), International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2)