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The Moldovan Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases, PCCOCS, said on Tuesday that it has arrested three individuals who were trained in subversion techniques at Russian-led training camps in Bosnia’s Serb-run entity, Republika Srpska, in August 2024.
“The purpose of the training was to prepare the organisation of mass unrest during the presidential elections and the referendum [in Moldova] in autumn 2024,” the PCCOCS said.
It said that the men from the cities of Chisinau and Criuleni, aged 27, 36 and 50, were arrested in Moldova on Tuesday.
Their names were not made public, but it was stated that they were already known to the police and had previously been convicted of various criminal offences. One of them was described as the unofficial leader of anti-government protests linked to a banned political party.
“They are suspected of having been recruited to participate in training in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Upon arrival, together with other identified participants, they learnt how to operate drones, studied [Moldovan] government buildings, embassies and institutions, received instruction on crowd psychology, and trained in clashes with the police,” the PCCOCS statement read.
According to the investigation, the detainees were paid between 300 and 400 dollars for each “training module”, with the money provided by an individual who is currently in Russia. This person, who was also not named, is said to have coordinated the activities via a Telegram group.
Prosecutors and security experts in Moldova believe that the training operation in the Balkans was masterminded by Ilan Shor, a fugitive businessman currently living in Russia, who formerly headed the pro-Russian Shor party, which is now outlawed in Moldova.
This was the second series of arrests in Moldova connected to the camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first were in October 2024.
Seven people have so far been indicted for their alleged involvement. The authorities in Republika Srpska continue to deny that the camps were ever held.
