Moscow funneled a total of $39 million in a scheme led by a pro-Russian oligarch aimed at influencing election results by paying ordinary citizens to vote against closer ties with the West, the country’s national police chief said on Oct. 24. Ilan Shor, a Moldovan-Israeli tycoon, is accused of laundering the money and orchestrating the network, despite his political party being banned. The election, held on Oct. 20, saw incumbent pro-European Moldovan President Maia Sandu come in first in the initial round of the country’s presidential election on Oct. 20 with 42% of the vote, heading for a ru…
