Pro-Russian leader of Moldovan ethnic minority detained

By Alexander Tanas

CHISINAU (Reuters) - Police in ex-Soviet Moldova detained the leader of the country's pro-Russian Gagauz ethnic minority at Chisinau's international airport late on Tuesday, following the unexplained disappearance of two other wanted pro-Russian lawmakers.

Eugenia Gutul, the leader, or bashkan, of Gagauzia, was being held for 72 hours in the capital, said Angela Starinschi, an official with Moldova's Anti-Corruption Centre.

"The action is being taken within the context of a criminal case," Starinschi told reporters.

Gagauzia, a 140,000-strong region in the south of Moldova, is dominated by ethnic Turks who favour close ties with Russia, adhere to Orthodox Christianity and have had uneasy relations with central authorities since Moldovan independence in 1991.

Moldova, which over the past 150 years has been variously part of the Russian empire, "greater Romania" and the Soviet Union, is now led by President Maia Sandu, who is committed to joining the European Union by 2030.

Sandu denounces Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and accuses the Kremlin of trying to unseat her.

Gutul, a fierce critic of the government, was elected bashkan in 2023 with backing from fugitive business magnate Ilan Shor, who was sentenced in 2023 to 15 years in prison in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks. She has met Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin while visiting Moscow.

Gutul, whose election as bashkan has never been recognised by Sandu, is due to be sentenced soon on charges of corruption and financing a political bloc led by Shor from exile in Russia.

Her detention follows the unexplained disappearance last week of pro-Russian parliamentarian Alexandr Nesterovschi on the day he was sentenced to 12 years in prison on similar corruption charges.

A second lawmaker, Irina Lozovan, awaiting a verdict on similar charges, has also disappeared.

Both were associates of Shor, who hopes to use his "Victory" bloc to win election of pro-Russian lawmakers in a parliamentary poll later this year.

Shor is accused by Moldovan authorities of funnelling large sums of money into the country to influence elections.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Nia Williams)