The former president of Moldova, Igor Dodon, has been officially charged by prosecutors for his actions dating from 2008-2009, when he held the position of vice-prime minister and minister of economy, the General Prosecutor's Office (PGO) announced on June 27.

Dodon is also being investigated for bribe-taking and illegal financing of his Socialist party, the PSRM. Dodon, a leading pro-Russian politcian in Moldova, has denied the accusations.

According to a statement released by the PGO, prosecutors officially filed an accusation against Dodon, in connection to the crime of exceeding office duties, committed by a person with public office, in the interest of an organised criminal group.

Specifically, the former president is accused that, from the position he held at that time, he signed the opinion on the basis of which, in May 2008, the head of state energy company Energocom concluded the contract regarding the purchase of electricity for the Republic of Moldova, with a Hungarian company, in a volume of 2.32TWh, for the period May 2008-June 2009.

According to the provisions of the contract concluded with the foreign company, the price of electricity for the period May-September 2008 amounted to $0.053 for 1 kWh, and $0.058 for 1 kWh for electricity delivered during the period between October 2008 and June 2009, under the circumstances that Energocom had already negotiated and concluded two contracts for the supply of electricity at a price 29% cheaper.

As a result of the actions, Energocom was caused damages amounting to $11.9mn, funds that were subsequently transferred to the accounts of some offshore companies, prosecutors said. At the same time, these actions led to an increase in electricity tariffs, affecting the rights of final consumers, citizens of Moldova.

Dodon served as president of Moldova from December 2016 to December 2020, failing to secure a second term in the 2020 election won by Moldova's current President Maia Sandu. Sandu's EU-oriented Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) went on to win a landslide general election victory in 2021.