About 25 judges and prosecutors from various regions of the Republic of Moldova, representing District Courts and Prosecutor’s Offices in areas such as Chisinau, Balti, Ungheni, Cimislia, Rezina and Anenii Noi, took actively part in a specialised training on investigating and examining illegal political financing. The one-day training session covered critical topics such as the legal framework for political financing, methods for investigating electoral violations, and exploration of current practices in electoral corruption and vote buying.

The Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Falk LANGE, emphasised the importance of combating illicit financing and foreign interference in elections. He highlighted lessons learned from Moldova's recent electoral events, the 2024 presidential election and the EU-related republican constitutional referendum. “These experiences underscore the need for financial integrity, cybersecurity, and measures against disinformation and hate speech in electoral processes. Need to combat illicit financing and foreign malign interference is underlined by the Parliament, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova and, also recorded by the international election observation missions, including PACE and OSCE/ODIHR”, said Falk LANGE.

The Council of Europe consultant Óscar Sánchez MUÑOZ, substitute member of the Venice Commission, shared insights on national and international sanctioning practices, including in the European Union member states. Council of Europe local consultants shared their experience on investigating into cases of illicit financing of political parties, electoral competitors, initiative groups and electoral campaigns. Participants had possibility to exchange opinions with representatives of the Central Electoral Commission as well. Traditionally organised ahead of electoral campaigns, these types of trainings have been helping strengthen the skills of judges and prosecutors since 2020. This effort is part of series of the trainings for law-enforcement bodies designed to ensure entegrity of the upcoming Parliamentary elections in 2025 in Moldova.

The activity was carried out in collaboration with the National Institute of Justice and the Central Electoral Commission within the Project ”Improving electoral practice in the Republic of Moldova (IEPRM) 2025-2028, part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2025-2028.