Former president of Transdniestria has secretly fled to Moldova
Yevgeny Shevchuk, the former president of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), has secretly left the country, as reported on Wednesday, June 28, on Facebook by the speaker of the PMR Supreme Council, Alexander Shcherba.
"During the night, he crossed the Dniester River on a vessel and reached Moldova," the chairman of the Transnistrian parliament wrote.
According to Shcherba, the former leader of Transdniestria was to attend a session of the Supreme Council which was convened to review the republic's prosecutor's request for the parliament's withdrawal of Shevchuk’s immunity and to launch the investigation into his activities.
The Speaker explained that the day before, Shevchuk received documents related to this matter.
As reported by RIA Novosti, on Wednesday the parliament had rejected the former PMR president’s request for immunity. According to the prosecutor, a criminal case was initiated against him on embezzlement of public funds.
The investigation believes that Shevchuk, being the president of the country, created a stabilization fund to which about 83 million Transnistrian rubles (eight million dollars) was transferred from a special gas account, Sputnik Moldova reports.
Transdniestria is the separatist region of Moldova where, during the Soviet era, the 14th Army of the USSR was based and now the Russian Armed Forces are stationed there. After the war in 1992, Chisinau lost control over this region on the left bank of the Dniester where about half a million people live. Fighters and entire units of the Russian Army fought in the war on the side of separatists. The self-declared independence of Transdniestria has not been recognized by any country in the world.