Voronin clan named country's richest, but heir will "never return to Moldova"

Oleg Voronin runs the business arm of the Voronin clan. His father, who is Moldova's president, runs the country

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - An American publication has named the family of Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin one of the richest in the country, while at the same time revealing that the heir to the family fortune has already left the country and will most likely never return.

A U.S.-based newspaper of Israeli origin, Novoye Russkoye Slovo ("New Russian Word"), this week published financial information about Moldova's richest families, including the Voronin clan which is headed by the Communist Party's Vladimir Voronin, a former Soviet-era general and ex-head of the dreaded Interior Ministry of the MSSR.

The family's business arm is run by the president's son, Oleg Voronin, who was educated as a biologist but is now active in everything from exports to banking and government contracts of every kind. Although the entrepreneur and banker is listed as a billionaire, the heir to the family fortune - Ecaterina Voronin - has already left the country and declared a distinct unwillingness to ever return.

Vladimir Voronin is both the President of Moldova and head of a family that has been identified as the richest in the country. Before reaching power, the fast-rising clan had no wealth.

Both Moldova, Transdniestria and southern Ukraine are currently suffering the after-effects of a severe drought which has devastated agricultural production and left the inhabitants unable to feed itself. Under orders by Voronin, Moldova has embarked on an international campaign of asking for cash handouts from other countries. Transdniestria, which has no international recognition, is denied formal access to the international aid system.

Voronin-heir doesn't want to live in Moldova

Moldova is officially the poorest country in Europe, with a development level equal to Sudan - in Africa - and a human rights record which Washington's Foreign Policy magazine says is on par with Eritrea. According to the magazine's Failed State Index, Moldova's gruesome human rights record lies just a step below Cambodia and the war-torn African country of Sierra Leone.

This is not the kind of country that the heir to the Voronin billions wants to live in. Ecaterina Voronin, the daughter of Oleg Voronin and the president's granddaughter, graduated from Pushkin lyceum of Chisinau in 2007 and immediately left the country. She now lives abroad, although the precise destination is a highly guarded secret.

Ecaterina Voronin granted an interview with a local TV channel where she said that she will probably never return to Moldova.

In leaving the country, the younger Voronin shares the fate of more than a million other Moldovans who have left for greener pastures elsewhere. Most leave for economic reasons, although some are victims of human traffickers. UN reports have singled out Moldova as the number one country for forced child prostitution and sex slavery in Europe, and earlier this year the U.S. State Department released a report which named Moldova a top origin country for human trafficking.

Chisinau-based news agency Infotag reported that the financial rating is based on information according to which, in the spring of 2007, Oleg Voronin allegedly celebrated his first billion dollars in a close circle. The authors of the American study notes that financial information in Moldova is hard to obtain, due to a zealous guarding of confidentiality.

Transdniestrians prefer freedom and democracy

In addition to the Voronin clan, America's NRS publication also reveals the wealth of Moldova's Stati family, run by Anatolie Stati and his son Gabriel. With a stated wealth of US$ 2.2 billion dollars, the family has close links to Moldova's ruling regime, in particular to strongman Vladimir Voronin. Due to its quick rise and unexplained wealth, it is often seen as a front for doubtful business deals of the country's elite. High level members of the ruling party elite run Moldova as their personal fiefdom and in 2007 the country was rated the most corrupt in Europe for the second year in a row.

Just like the heir to the Voronin family wealth, the inhabitants of Transdniestria (official name: Pridnestrovie) also don't want to live in Moldova. For 17 years, they have constructed their own independent state. Last year, they overwhelmingly voted against being part of Moldova in a referendum on independence which was deemed free and fair by the 130 international election observers who oversaw the voting process.

In Moldova, the Communist Party is strengthening its iron grip on power. Earlier this year, the government closed down critical and independent media critics, and the most recent election was generally viewed as marred with fraud and irregularities. The United States refused to pronounce it free or fair, and many Moldovans point to open abuses by the Communist Party as examples of the Voronin regime's intolerance. In nearby Transdniestria, on the other side of the Dniester river which forms the border, the population has no interest in joining Moldova and prefers instead to develop freedom and democracy on its own terms.

The release of the information on Voronin's wealth has caused no reaction in Tiraspol, the capital of 'de facto' independent Transdniestria. Since 1990 the government of Transdniestria has pursued its own independence and consistently rejected a union state with Moldova, which is sees as a corrupt kleptocracy that can bring little good to the 550,000 inhabitants of Transdniestria. (With information from Infotag, NRS)

See also:
» Son of Moldova's president defends his riches: "I don't steal other companies"
» Watchdog: Moldova one of the most corrupt countries in the world

Opinion and commentary:
» Institutionalized kleptocracy