Police in Moldova say Russia paid 39 million dollars to bribe voters ahead of last Sunday’s presidential election and referendum on joining the European Union.
The police said on Thursday that the funds had been transferred from a Russian bank in September and October to be used as bribes.
They say a pro-Russian individual bribed 130,000 voters, or about 5 percent of Moldova’s population, in September alone.
An opinion poll conducted prior to the referendum showed that a majority of respondents supported joining the EU, but in actual voting, the difference was less than 1 percentage point.
In the presidential election, pro-EU incumbent Maia Sandu won the most votes, but failed to secure a majority and will face a runoff.
The Moldovan government is criticizing Russia for meddling in the vote through large-scale bribes and spreading misinformation because it wants to block Moldova from joining the EU. The Kremlin has denied any intervention.
The runoff of the presidential election, scheduled for November 3, is expected to be closely contested.