Meet Ilan Shor, the Kremlin’s new favorite oligarch in Moldova....
Mikhail Khodorkovsky@khodorkovsky_en
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Oct 26, 2024
~2 min read
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Meet Ilan Shor, the Kremlin’s new favorite oligarch in Moldova.
This fugitive tycoon, convicted in the "theft of the century", is now at the center of unprecedented meddling in Moldova's pivotal elections.
1/9 Here’s what we know about him, thanks to @dossier_center
This fugitive tycoon, convicted in the "theft of the century", is now at the center of unprecedented meddling in Moldova's pivotal elections.
1/9 Here’s what we know about him, thanks to @dossier_center
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2/9 Shor made his first millions running duty-free shops in Chisinau. Then, remarkably, at just 24 years old with zero banking experience, he became chairman of Moldova's largest bank - Banca de Economii.
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3/9 From this position, he engineered what Moldovans call "the theft of the century." Through a web of fraudulent loans, he stole $1 billion from three banks. It was an unprecedented scale: 12% of Moldova's entire GDP vanished overnight.
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4/9 Even while under investigation, Shor pulled off something extraordinary - he became mayor of Orhei, formed his own political party, and won a parliament seat. He used the stolen money for local social projects and promised economic miracles.
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5/9 When conviction came, Shor fled to Israel. But instead of disappearing, he doubled down on politics. From exile, he continued directing his party and organizing street protests in Moldova against the pro-EU government.
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6/9 The FSB, Russian secret service, having lost their main asset in President Dodon (caught on tape discussing Kremlin funding), saw an opportunity in Shor. Their internal documents describe him as 'either hated to the point of an allergic reaction or idealized' by Moldovans.
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7/9 FSB General Milyutin deployed political consultants Gonin and Shirobokov to run Shor's network, they used Tether cryptocurrency to access funding without detection. All three are now under US sanctions.
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8/9 Igor Chayka, son of Russia's former Prosecutor General, managed the money flow. He coordinated directly with Putin's press secretary Peskov to fund activities aimed at undermining President Sandu's pro-EU government.
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9/9 Even with his party now banned and him in exile, Shor's protests continue in Moldova. His followers rally against "high prices" and "Western influence" - messaging straight from Putin’s playbook.
Based on the investigation by @dossier_center and @risemoldova.
Read in full here: fsb.dossier.center/mld-en/
Based on the investigation by @dossier_center and @risemoldova.
Read in full here: fsb.dossier.center/mld-en/