Regional Conference on Money in Politics 2026: From Virtual Money to Real Influence

09:30 – 10:15   |   Opening Session: Political Finance Reform After the 2024–2025 Electoral Cycle

Welcome remarks and opening keynote: Money, Technology, and Electoral Integrity in 2026

• Speaker: Angelica Caraman, Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
• Speaker: Igor Grosu, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova
• Short video welcomes from international partners
• Partners: International IDEA, UNDP Moldova, Council of Europe, EUPM, NDI, OIF

11:00 – 12:30   |   Plenary Session 1: Democratic Resilience in Eastern Europe: Translating the EU Democracy Shield into Practice

This panel addresses interagency cooperation across EMBs, anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, prosecutorial bodies, regulators, and civil society for safeguarding electoral integrity. It explores how the EU Democracy Shield can be operationalised at the regional level through joint risk assessment, information sharing, coordinated response protocols, and cross-border cooperation against hybrid threats.

Coordinator: International IDEA

• Moderator: Angelica Caraman, Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of Moldova

The interagency coordination and the chain of action

• Speaker: Ana Revenco, Director, Center for Strategic Communication and Countering Disinformation

Coordinating against electoral crime: lessons from Albania's inter-institutional mechanism in the 2025 cycle

• Speaker: Ilirjan Celibashi, State Election Commissioner, Albania

Reforming political finance in the EU accession context: legislative and regulatory adjustments in North Macedonia and the challenges of the Democracy Shield

Speaker: Bojan Marichikj, President of the State Election Commission of North Macedonia

The regulatory framework for political advertising online in EU and non-EU States

• Speaker: Dr Marta Achler, UNDP Expert on Digital Platform Regulation, Polish Academy of Sciences

Protecting elections against hybrid threats – the role of international assistance and regional cooperation

• Speaker: Sam van der Staak, Director for the Regional Europe Programme for International IDEA

Cross-border crisis response: lessons from the 2024–2025 electoral cycle

• Speaker: Marie-Sophie Peyre, Team Leader – Democracy, Justice, Freedom and Security (Chapter 24) at DG ENEST (European Commission)

13:30 – 15:00   |   Plenary Session 2: Foreign Financial Interference (FFI) as a Core Enabler for Hybrid Tactics

This session explores how third-party and malign foreign actors interfere in democratic processes bypassing financial regulations and oversight.

Coordinator: EUPM

Moderator: Catalina Uribe Burcher, Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sweden

TBD

Speaker: Septimius Parvu, Expert Forum, Romania

Indirect financing and coordination with political actors: structures, methods, and detection challenges

Speaker: Dr. Christine Dugoin Clément, Associated Researcher at the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of the Sorbonne (Paris 1) and at the Military Academy of the French National Gendarmerie, OIF Expert

The expanding influence of social media and influencers in political campaigns

Speaker: Taisia Haritonova, NDI Representative in Moldova

Sponsored content and opaque advertising ecosystems: following the money in digital spaces

Speaker: Victor Ilie, Investigative journalist, Snoop, Romania

Accountability and enforcement challenges: what can EMBs realistically do?

Speaker: Pavel Postica, Deputy Chairman, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova

Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour as undeclared political expenditure: tracing the funding structures behind fabricated third-party actors

Speaker: Dr. Susana Dragomir, International Digital Policy Advisor & FIMI Analyst

15:30 – 17:00   |   Plenary Session 3: Following the Virtual Money – Cryptocurrencies, Fintech, and a Revolution in Political Finance Oversight

This session aims to answer the questions that matter for EMBs on fintech, crypto, and virtual assets: what can oversight bodies actually see, what can they realistically do, and what institutional relationships need to be in place throughout the electoral cycle.

• Coordinator: UNDP
• Moderator: Skye Christensen, Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP Moldova

Where crypto meets the banking system: what the National Bank of Moldova can see

• Speaker: Petru Rotaru, First Deputy Governor of the National Bank

Virtual Money Frontiers: efficiency, and sufficiency of existing standards and measures in combating illegal political financing – are we winning the fight?

• Speaker: Alfred Zammit, Vice-Chair, MONEYVAL, Council of Europe, Director of Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, Malta

What blockchain analytics can and cannot reveal: traceability, anonymity myths, and the limits of current tools in electoral contexts

• Speaker: Dr Yulia Murat, Head of Regulatory Affairs at Global Ledger, Expert Council of Ukrainian Modern Digital Science

The institutional chain in practice: how EMBs, FIUs, and law enforcement divide detection, referral, and disruption

• Speaker: Oleksiy Feshchenko, UNDP Expert on Virtual Assets and Crypto-Enabled Crime

The use of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and DeFi protocols in campaign financing: scale, methods, and emerging patterns

• Speaker: Michael Halepas, Council of Europe expert

Case study – Romania – cryptocurrencies and fintech in the 2024–2025 electoral process

• Speaker: Daniel Leu, CysCoe, Romania 

09:00 – 10:30   |   Plenary Session 4: Harnessing Technology for Oversight of Electoral Integrity

This session examines how AI can enhance EMB oversight capacities, with a particular focus on social media monitoring as a cross-cutting lens. Panelists will share practical experiences from piloting AI and SMM tools in electoral contexts. Per the merger proposal, this 90-minute slot consolidates AI-Powered Tools content from the former Day 1 Technical Session.

Coordinator: International IDEA

Moderator: Nana Kalandadze, Programme Manager, Regional Europe Programme, International IDEA

Artificial Intelligence and Electoral Integrity: A Rule of Law Perspective.

• Speaker: Veronika Bilcová, member of the Venice Commission in respect of Czechia, Council of Europe

Risks, safeguards, and trust: ethical considerations, data protection, and public confidence

• Speaker: Goran Petrov, Election Advisor, ODIHR

Practical experiences from electoral oversight bodies that have piloted AI and SMM tools

• Speaker: Olga Macujeva, Chief Specialist of the Political Party Financing Control Division, CNAB

Integrating financial and digital datasets: connecting campaign finance data with social media intelligence

• Speaker: Andrei Fornea, Expert, International IDEA

Linking AI and SMM: how machine-learning models can enhance monitoring of online political spending and detect coordinated inauthentic behaviour

• Speaker: Gabriel Puiu, Hackout Association, Romania

AI applications for EMBs: anomaly detection, predictive risk modelling, and automated compliance checks

• Speaker: Ajay Patel, Special Advisor, UNDP

11:00 – 12:30   |   Plenary Session 5: The Enforcement Ecosystem – Countering Illicit Political Finance from Detection to Prosecution

Integrity in political finance cannot be achieved by any single institution: integrity requires an integrated ecosystem of investigative journalists who surface criminal networks, electoral management bodies which oversee disclosure, financial intelligence units that trace, law enforcement that disrupts, and prosecutors who secure convictions. This session examines the 'Moldovan Model' of tackling cross-border, crypto-enabled electoral corruption at scale, with an emphasis on practical things regional countries can do to build resilience against cross-border and illicit political finance.

Coordinator: UNDP

Moderator: Pavel Postica, Deputy Chairman, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova

The political finance integrity ecosystem in practice: detection, disclosure, investigation, and sanction/prosecution.

• Speaker: Alex Shlyk, Senior Expert on Political Finance, UNDP

Investigative journalism as the first line of political finance accountability.

• Speaker: Mariuța Nistor, journalist, Ziarul de Gardă

Inter-institutional collaboration in practice – disruption, seizure, and operational coordination

• Speaker: National Anti-Corruption Centre, Republic of Moldova
• Speaker: Inspectorate General Police, Republic of Moldova

From transparency to enforcement: what makes political finance oversight effective?

• Speaker: Dr. Sam Power, expert, International IDEA

   

13:30 – 15:00   |   Plenary Session 6: Peer-to-Peer Exchange – Strengthening Political Finance Oversight in Practice

This session provides a dedicated space for peer learning and exchange among practitioners from Moldova, Ukraine, the Western Balkans, and other regional partners. The format prioritises practical, experience-based sharing over presentations.

Coordinator: CoE

Moderator: Veronika Bilcová, member of the Venice Commission in respect of Czechia, Council of Europe

Legislative and regulatory frameworks that have worked (and those that haven't)

• Speaker: Radivoje Grujic, Expert, ODIHR

Closing the transparency gap: Moldova's experience in civic oversight of emerging risks in political finance

• Speaker: Nicolae Panfil, Program Director, Promo-LEX Association

Strategies for public engagement and building trust in political finance oversight

• Speaker: Andrii Yevstihnieiev, member of the Central Election Commission Ukraine

Implementation challenges for new transparency requirements, including digital campaign monitoring

• Speaker: Vita Dumanska, leader of the CHESNO Movement, Ukraine

Tracking illicit finance, including cryptocurrency in elections: the case of Armenia

• Speaker: Jeff Coonjohn, Chief Executive Officer, UNISHKA

Digitalising political finance oversight: the Lithuanian CEC's experience and the road to AI readiness in EMBs

• Speaker: Milda Pocevičiūtė, Head of Political Parties and Political Campaigns Funding Control Unit, Central Electoral Commission, Lithuania

15:30 – 16:30   |   Closing Session: Democratic Resilience in Eastern Europe: Translating the EU Democracy Shield into Practice

This closing session will bring together key partners to reflect on the conference discussions, consolidate takeaways, and define collaborative pathways forward.

Coordinator: International IDEA

Moderator: Marie-Sophie Peyre, Team Leader – Democracy, Justice, Freedom and Security (Chapter 24) at DG ENEST (European Commission)

The Democracy Shield in Practice: Translating Commitments into Electoral Integrity

Key takeaways and reflections

• Speaker: Angelica Caraman, Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
• Speaker: Ilirjan Celibashi, State Election Commissioner, Albania
• Speaker: Bojan Marichikj, President, State Election Commission of North Macedonia
• Speaker: Andrii Yevstihnieiev, member of the Central Election Commission Ukraine

Closing remarks

• Speaker: Angelica Caraman, Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova