Moldovan opposition claims Russia’s €200mn loan is a trap

Moldovan opposition claims Russia’s €200mn loan is a trap
By Iulian Ernst in Bucharest April 23, 2020

The contract signed by Moldova’s ambassador in Moscow with the Russian authorities for a €200mn loan, announced by President Igor Dodon at the end of last week on Orthodox Good Friday, includes questionable provisions that could turn any loan extended by a Russian entity to a Moldovan private company and “agreed” by the Moldovan authorities into a full-fledged state-guaranteed loan paid from the public budget if the Moldovan debtor defaults, the leader of pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former prime minister Maia Sandu has warned.

The provisions could benefit the companies owned by Dodon’s brother, who is carrying out intense operations in Russia with Russian officials, Sandu claimed.

Notably, before the opposition spotted the provision, Moldovan media had circulated comments about another critical provision related to the access given to Russian companies to public contracts in Moldova. The provision is less controversial and it is very likely that it was circulated on purpose in order to generate some public controversy focused on this issue rather than on the unclear provision related to the debts owed to Russia by private Moldovan debtors.

The provision related to the private Moldovan debtors, included at point 7.2 in the contract as revealed by Mold-Street.com, was broadly criticised by Moldovan opposition lawmakers, who urged Dodon to renegotiate the contract with Russia.

Specifically, the provision reads that Moldova’s government should consolidate all the overdue loans extended by Russian banks to Moldovan debtors that are “agreed” by Moldovan state on a half-year basis into its own debt toward Russia, and consequently pay the related instalments, interest and penalties. It is unclear what “agreed” refers to, as the term seems to be broader than including only the loans guaranteed by the state.

The document, signed in Moscow on April 17, has been received by Moldovan lawmakers for endorsement.

Mold-Street.com remarked that the document has no date on it and the identity of the Russian official who signed it is unclear. Also, no website of the Russian Federation mentions the agreement with Moldova, while among the major Russian media only Tass reported the agreement, quoting Dodon’s Facebook post. Nezavisimaya Gazeta identifies the Russian official who signed the document as being Russia’s Vice Finance Minister Timur Maximov, Mold-Street.com says.

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