Alexandr Nesterovschi (born 11 January 1981) is a

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

n politician who serves as a Member of the

Moldovan Parliament The parliament of the Republic of Moldova () is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period or legislature of ...

since 2014. Nesterovschi was sentenced on 19 March 2025 to 12 years in prison. He did not attend the hearing. He was charged with

passive corruption Passive corruption, in Brazilian criminal law, is one of the crimes committed by public officials against the general administration. Corruption can be of two types: * Active, referring to the briber; or * Passive, referring to the corrupted pub ...

; he accepted funds from Moldovan fugitive oligarch

Ilan Shor Ilan may refer to: Organization *ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children Given name *Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name * Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer * Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footballe ...

to found a political party. On the same day, Russian media announced that Nesterovschi had received

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n citizenship, for which he expressed gratitude in a statement to

RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (), is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013, by a decree of Vladimir Putin, it was liquidated and its assets and workforce were transferred to the newly created ...

. According to

Party of Action and Solidarity The Party of Action and Solidarity (, PAS) is a liberal political party in Moldova. The PAS was founded by Maia Sandu, the former Minister of Education and the incumbent president of Moldova. A pro-European party, it is an observer of the Eu ...

(PAS) parliament member Lilian Carp, Nesterovschi escaped either to the or to the Russian-backed unrecognized breakaway region of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...

. Moldova expelled three Russian diplomats from the country on suspicion of involvement in Nesterovschi's escape, prompting Russia to retaliate by expelling three Moldovan diplomats from the country.

References

1981 births Living people People from Fălești District Moldovan politicians Moldovan MPs 2014–2019 Moldovan MPs 2019–2021 Moldovan MPs 2021–2025 Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova politicians Moldovan politicians convicted of crimes {{Moldova-politician-stub