We hope the information provided by the United States Department of the Treasury will be used for the sanctioned persons to be brought to justice, said the U.S. Ambassador to Moldova Kent D. Logsdon. According to the diplomat, the inclusion of oligarchs Vlad Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor in the U.S. sanctions list will have a powerful reputational impact and international banks will refuse to work with such clients, IPN reports.
The United States last week imposed sanctions on individuals and entities involved in what it described as Russia’s malign influence operations in Moldova as well as systemic corruption in Moldova. The individuals sanctioned, a mix of Russian and Moldovan officials, include oligarchs “widely recognized for capturing and corrupting Moldova’s political and economic institutions and those acting as instruments of Russia’s global influence campaign”.
“All their assets in the U.S. were frozen and need to be reported to the United States Department of the Treasury. Furthermore, all the persons are banned from entering the U.S. We know that Vlad Plahotniuc have had a visa ban. Now all those sanctions have such a ban. We hope that other countries will see what we did and will also take action. There is also the reputational risk. Those who are sanctioned by the U.S. will face such a situation. For example, if you want to do business with a bank or a business entity, these entities will not want to work with sanctioned persons,” Kent D. Logsdon stated in the talk show “In Depth” on ProTV Chisinau channel.
The U.S. diplomat said that even if Ilan Shor lives in another country, he will be affected by the sanctions imposed by the United Sates as he will be unable to perform any kind of transactions with U.S. companies. The authorities in Moldova said fugitive MP Ilan Shor is currently in Israel.
“Ilan Shor, his wife and the Shor Party were sanctioned by the U.S. This means that any activity with U.S. companies or companies owned by citizens of the U.S. is blocked, even if Shor lives in another country. It will be hard for persons from this list to work with international banks. They will be banned from travelling to the U.S. or to other counties if other states take the same actions,” said the U.S. diplomat.
Kent D. Logsdon noted that the U.S. does not interference in Moldova’s integral affairs, but he voiced hope that the Moldovan authorities will take attitude to the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision and will act in accordance with the national legislation.
“We hope the Government and the citizens of the Republic of Moldova will examine this information and will take correct decisions, depending on the legal framework. We cannot tell them what to do. This is public information and we hope it will be used by NGOs, the Government, the citizens for these persons to be brought to justice,” stated the diplomat.
Alongside Ilan Shor and Vlad Plahontiuc, the U.S. sanctions list includes Russian citizens who worked to influence the outcome of Moldova’s elections and to keep the country in Russia’s sphere of influence. Among the designated Russians are Igor Chayka, Yuriy Gudilin, Olga Grak, and Leonid Gonin. The last three worked as advisors to former Moldovan President Igor Dodon.
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