The former pro-Russian President of the Republic of Moldova and de facto leader of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), Igor Dodon, has been detained with the involvement of Romania’s special services, according to a false narrative released in Bucharest.
NEWS: “Now, it's hard to believe that Major General Alexandru Esaulenco could find a more coveted job than a country's secret service! Especially since he is an intelligence officer and has built his career step by step, up to the highest position in the Moldovan security system. As a result, the justification for the resignation that comes just a few days after the arrest of the former president Igor Dodon should be different than just “changing jobs”. Igor Dodon says his arrest was carried out at the order of some Romanian counselor. Anyway, the shockwave of the “earthquake” that shattered the top levels of the ISS will certainly be felt in Bucharest as well.
Even for the simple fact that ISS is considered the “bridgehead” of the Romanian secret services. Their close collaboration made possible even the spectacular victory of Maia Sandu in the presidential elections. However, according to our sources, the resignation of the head of the ISS could be related to the procedural blunder of having the Russian-speaking Igor Dodon arrested by officers of the Intelligence Service, instead of those of the Interior Ministry. Anyway, a “massacre” is to be expected on the Chisinau front, between the Romanian and the Russian secret services!”
NARRATIVES: 1. Igor Dodon was detained at the behest of Romanian counselors in the Republic of Moldova 2. Moldovan special services are a “bridgehead” for Romanian ones 3. ISS had no legal ground to take part in Dodon's detention.
CONTEXT: The former pro-Russian President of the Republic of Moldova Igor Dodon was detained and then was placed under 30-day house arrest on suspicion of four criminal offenses.
Dodon is accused of illicit enrichment, passive corruption, treason and receiving money for his party from an organized crime group
He was detained on May 24 for 72 hours, then was placed under house arrest for 30 days, though the prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to replace that with a decision of deprivation of liberty.
PURPOSE: To mislead the public into believing that Igor Dodon is a victim of domestic politics, but also of interests from outside the country.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The fact that Igor Dodon said that he was detained at the behest of the Romanian counselors from various institutions in the Republic of Moldova is a statement taken out of context and interpreted in a biased manner by the author of the article.
Specifically, Dodon stated the following, on his release from pre-trial detention on May 26: “It’s strange and humiliating to be accused of treason by those who’ve filled all the state institutions with Romanian, American and German counselors, who are controlling all institutions, including the presidential one, where there are dozens of foreign consultants paid from outside the country”, according to Pro TV Chisinau.
Also, the statement that the Moldovan secret services are somehow subordinated to the Romanian ones is false. In fact, during the communist regime of Vladimir Voronin (2000-2008), but even after that, the services in the two countries seem to have been in conflict. An exchange of compromising recordings is also believed to be part of this conflict. First, amid bilateral tensions amplified by Chisinau after the so-called Twitter Revolution of April 2009, the media in the two countries received a recording of Romania's consul to Moldova, Ion Nuica, and a consulate lady employee. Subsequently, another recording was made public in Romania showing un a prominent member of the Party of Communists and two prostitutes . Officially, the sources of both recordings remained anonymous.
So far, no information has been published about the close links between the Intelligence and Security Service (ISS) of the Republic of Moldova and the Romanian services. Instead, there’s been talk of some links between ISS officers and Russia. The most recent example is that of the former ISS officer, Evgheni Kuzmin, who became an adviser to Vadim Ceban, the head of Moldovagaz, a subsidiary of Gazprom in the Republic of Moldova. On April 1, 2022, Kuzmin was searched by his former ISS colleagues for disclosing state secrets.
Another fake news released by the author of the article in the National is that the ISS should not have participated in Dodon’s arrest. According to the laws of the Republic of Moldova, the ISS may take part in criminal investigations, and one of the charges is treason, which falls within the responsibilities of the ISS anyway.
ISS collaborates on various cases with the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova.
Finally, after Dodon and the Party of Socialists lost the presidential elections, it is unlikely that the former president of the Republic of Moldova will be much of a stake anymore, and much less one that would justify pressure from Romania for his arrest or an underground war between the Romanian and the Russian secret services.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: Igor Dodon was detained, and the procedure involved prosecutors and the ISS Alpha Special Forces.
