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doubleherpes ago

Democratic Party of Moldova to pay $600K to Podesta Group for lobby services

7/12/16

The Democratic Party of Moldova contracted with the American company Podesta Group for lobbying services, reports newsmaker.md.

According to the US Department of Justice, Podesta Group will represent the interests of the Moldovan Democrats in the US Congress and in the relations with other decision-making players. Podesta would have to improve the Moldo-American relations and would organize meetings with American officials. In other words, “Support Democratic Party policies”.

The 600,000 US dollars contract was signed on June 22nd 2016 and will last until June 21 2017.

One of the founders of Podesta Group, John Podesta, is now the leader of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, while the other founding brother Tony Podesta is known for being in close ties to Barack Obama.

Podesta Group previously offered lobbying services for Wal-Mart, BP, Sberbank, an NGO close to former Ukraine President Yanukovich and the Azerbaijani government.

doubleherpes ago

The Democratic Party of Moldova (Romanian: Partidul Democrat din Moldova, PDM; Russian: Демократическая партия Молдовы) is a social-democratic[2][5] political party in Moldova. Established in 1997 as the Movement for a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova,[3] it is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES)[6] and a full member of the Socialist International,[4] also participating in the Progressive Alliance.[7] The party is closely associated with its chief financial backer, the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_of_Moldova

According to Komsomolskaya Pravda in early 1990s, when Plahotniuc held the position of specialist at the "Minor" Center for prevention and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, he started recruiting young ladies from socially vulnerable families for sex slavery abroad. Many trafficked girls disappeared in Albania, Bosnia, Croatia. But their parents believed that their daughters were working as guides, managers or business women.[69]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Plahotniuc#Accusations_of_Trafficking_Women_and_Minors

doubleherpes ago

More info on Plahotniuc:

https://moldovanpolitics.com/tag/pdm/

Vlad Plahotniuc is widely considered to be Moldova’s wealthiest person. However, the full extent of Plahotniuc’s assets and wealth remains unknown. He owes his financial standing to a privileged position in the inner circle of former Communist President, Vladimir Voronin. However Plahotniuc remained in the shadows of Moldovan politics while building an economic empire throughcommercial raiding. Moldovan media did not even have a photo of Moldova’s richest man until 2010.

Once the Communist Party lost power in 2009 and a pro-European coalition emerged from Moldova’s so-called “Twitter Revolution” [US black op?], Plahotniuc began to appear in Moldovan politics. He was quick to change his allegiances by sponsoring the then-opposition Democratic Party, of which he is now deputy chairman. The oligarch was also instrumental in promoting his protégées in key state offices, including the judiciary and law enforcement.

Financially, Moldova is yet to recover from one of the largest banking heists in history. This event saw $1 billion dollars (15% of the country’s GDP) disappear from the country’s three banks in late 2014.

Coupled with his media empire (he owns Moldova’s main TV channels), Plahotniuc’s influence is now unchallenged. His fortunes rose with the October 2015 arrest of Vlad Filat, Moldova’s ex-prime minister and former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party. Filat also happened to be Plathotniuc’s main political and oligarchic rival. After eight months in custody, Filat was convicted in July 2016 to nine years in prison for his connection to the one billion dollar theft.

In July 2016, a Moldovan banker, Veaceslav Platon, was arrested in Ukraine in connection with the banking theft and, despite possession of Ukrainian citizenship, was nonetheless hastily extradited to Moldova. Platon is now in pre-trial detention. This turn of events contrasts to the fate of Ilan Shor, another wealthy Moldovan-Israeli businessman considered the central figure in the banking heist, who was arrested back in 2015, but was then allowed to run for mayor of Orhei, a town not far from Moldova’s capital. He ended up winning with a landslide.

derpderpderpderp ago

Nicely fucking found.

doubleherpes ago

Thanks, just linked this info to today's sticky thread.

derpderpderpderp ago

I'd give you ups but I dont have any left to give =(

Royce_of_Veason ago

Got it covered - gave what I had left