Victoria Furtună

Victoria Furtună
Personal details
Born (1981-02-24) 24 February 1981
Hîncești, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union (now Moldova)
Citizenship Moldova
Romania[1]
Political partyGreater Moldova Party (2025–present)
Other political
affiliations		Independent (2024–2025)
Alma materFree International University of Moldova
OccupationPolitician, formerly prosecutor
AwardsEminent of the Prosecutor's Office chest badge (2016)
Websitevictoriafurtuna.md

Victoria Furtună (born 24 February 1981) is a Moldovan politician and former prosecutor. She worked as a prosecutor for 18 years, having been involved in numerous high-profile cases and having been considered for the position of acting Prosecutor General of Moldova in 2021. Furtună resigned amid a major scandal with the judicial system in March 2024 and announced four months later that she would run as an independent candidate at the 2024 Moldovan presidential election, in which she placed fifth with 4.45% of the votes. Furtună afterwards became the current leader of the Greater Moldova Party (PMM) on 2 March 2025.

Furtună has promoted a populist, anti-system, anti-Western and irredentist discourse and expressed her opposition of then President of Moldova Maia Sandu, promoting the "Moldovan language" and the neutrality of Moldova and maintaining a high presence in social media for her campaigning. She also expressed opposition to Moldova's accession to the European Union (EU) before completely U-turning on this stance after taking leadership of the PMM. Furtună is alleged to have held contact and received support from Moldovan pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and his group, particularily during her 2024 presidential campaign, and she has been subject to sanctions in Moldova, the EU and Switzerland over her alleged connections with him.

Prosecutor career

Victoria Furtună was born on 24 February 1981 in the town of Hîncești, in the Moldavian SSR of the Soviet Union (now Moldova). She graduated from the Free International University of Moldova in 2003 with a degree in law, later also obtaining a master's degree in law at the same university.[2] As of 2024, Furtună was married and had two children. She speaks Romanian and Russian.[3] She is a citizen of Romania as well.[1]

Furtună began her career as prosecutor in 2006 at the Nisporeni District Prosecutor's Office.[2] Two years later according to Moldovan TV channel Realitatea TV, she was transferred to the Chișinău Municipal Prosecutor's Office, in the Botanica sector of Chișinău.[3] In 2016, she was awarded the Eminent of the Prosecutor's Office chest badge, being appointed on the same year as prosecutor at Moldova's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (PA).[2] In October 2021, following the suspension of Alexandr Stoianoglo as Prosecutor General of Moldova, Furtună and Dumitru Robu were considered for serving as acting Prosecutor General, with the position ultimately being awarded to Robu.[4]

In her 18-year-long career as prosecutor, Furtună handled several criminal cases involving high-ranking officials, mayors, ministers, members of the Parliament of Moldova, senior officials of Moldova's Ministry of Internal Affairs and colleagues of the Prosecutor's Office.[2] She handled a corruption case accusing former Mayor of Chișinău Dorin Chirtoacă (the "paid parking case"), as well as a case in which former Minister of Transport and Roads Infrastructure Iurie Chirinciuc was accused of influence peddling and abuse of power.[3][4] For some time, Furtună was among the prosecutors involved in the case against Moldovan pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor. She was in charge of the corruption case in which Shor-affiliated parliament members Marina Tauber and Reghina Apostolova were accused of committing large-scale bank fraud and of money laundering for the benefit of a criminal organized group, with Furtună subsequently withdrawing the charges.[5]

Furtună resigned from her position as anti-corruption prosecutor on 11 March 2024[6] in the midst of a major scandal.[3] Among her reasons, she included her disagreement with the alleged subordination of the judicial system to the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS).[4] Furtună accused Moldova's Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) of including her on the list of people who threaten national security[6] and of limiting her access to a file on "illegal actions by a group of people who are causing chaos in the judicial system" of Moldova.[4] She also accused the SIS of violating the law and of wanting to be a loyal institution to the government.[3] Furtună would have been included in such list after she initiated a case on 11 January that year that allegedly proved that public institutions of the Moldovan state had fabricated and spread false information against judges disloyal to the ruling government at the time. The day after her resignation, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Moldova (PG), with the approval of the PA's head Veronica Dragalin, searched Furtună's former office amid a criminal investigation in which she was suspect of having intentionally disclosed information from a criminal case investigated by the PA.[6]

On 22 April that year, Furtună announced the creation of the Vox Populi, Vox Dei association, the objective of which would be monitoring and exposing major corruption cases through which millions of lei were being stolen from Moldova's citizens as she stated. She also stated to Moldovan news agency IPN Press Agency she had filed a complaint for "the usurpation of state powers" to the PG, calling for the prosecution of those who "continue to usurp judicial power in an abusive manner, solely for personal purposes"; as well as a complaint against then President of Moldova Maia Sandu demanding 1 million lei, which "will be redistributed to orphanages", in moral damages for having "intentionally defamed" her at a press conference on 18 March and not having responded to a request for a public apology from Furtună.[6]

Political career

2024 Moldovan presidential election

See also: 2024 Moldovan presidential election
Logo of Victoria Furtună's 2024 Moldovan presidential election campaign

On 30 July, Furtună announced that she would run as an independent candidate in the 2024 Moldovan presidential election, to be held on 20 October. She made the announcement via a video filmed at the Suvorov Square in Tiraspol, in Moldova's Russian-backed unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria, with the Suvorov Monument dedicated to Russian general Alexander Suvorov showing behind her. Furtună claimed that the ruling government in Chișinău intended to drag Moldova into the Russian invasion of Ukraine and unfreeze the Transnistria conflict. Holding a dove, she stated "I will do everything possible so that war does not come to our common home".[7]

In her election campaign, Furtună described the following priorities: the reintegration of Transnistria into Moldova; the protection of Moldovans "wherever they are"; trade relations "with all countries of the globe"; promoting "our individuality", defined as Moldovan traditions and values, through international events, mass media, cinema and art; the maintenance of Moldova's neutrality; and multiple points dedicated to defense policy and to the modernization and strengthening of the Armed Forces of Moldova. Moldovan political analyst and Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu State University of Cahul rector Sergiu Cornea defined Furtună's promises as original but without sufficient explanation and argumentation to show the necessary actions for their fulfillment.[8]

According to Moldovan newspaper Deschide.MD, Furtună coordinated her campaign with the Victory electoral bloc, led by the aforementioned Shor, as evidenced by what was purportedly spoken in a meeting of Victory in Chișinău on 27 September which would have been attended by Furtună, Shor (online) and several of the latter's affiliates such as Tauber, Vasile Bolea and Evghenia Guțul.[9] On 4 October, Furtună held a meeting in Chișinău with around 30 people from the settlements of Sîngera, Dobrogea and Revaca. According to an investigation by Moldovan newspaper Ziarul de Gardă, these people were summoned through Telegram channels affiliated to Shor, with Furtună discussing anti-Western narratives promoted by Shor at the meeting.[10] In addition, Deschide.MD provided a recording in which an activist of the Victory bloc reportedly incited voters to vote for Furtună in the election, and Victory's Basarabeasca District territorial organization head was purportedly shown in a video asking her subordinates to summon as many people as possible to a meeting with Furtună.[11] Furtună denied being supported by Shor and stated that "someone is specially trying to take some actions and destroy my election campaign".[5]

Furthermore, an investigation by Moldovan TV channel TV8, published on 14 October, argued that priests in northern Moldova had collected signatures for the registration of Furtună in the election, with signatories being stated that they were signing for other causes. These priests would have been mobilized by Maxim Guzun, secretary of the Diocese of Bălți and Fălești, of the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church, whose archbishop Marchel Mihăescu openly endorsed Furtună for the election as "a frail woman, a Christian, a tender mother and an honest wife". Signatures for Furtună would have also been collected by Veaceslav Parasi, then the priest of Temeleuți in Florești District, in the Diocese of Soroca and Drochia of the same church. Both Guzun and Parasi, as well as other priests, had previously been detained, being found in possession of money retired from the Russian bank Sberbank. Reports existed at the time that priests of the Metropolis of Chișinău and All Moldova were getting involved in political activities and receiving money transferred through Mir cards from Russia.[12]

Furtună obtained 68,778 (4.45%) of the votes in the first round of the presidential election, placing fifth out of eleven candidates.[13] She won over a quarter of the votes in Gagauzia and in Orhei and Taraclia districts, finishing second, third and second there respectively. These three units accounted for more than 40% of the votes she received nationwide, with modest results in the remaining districts. Nationwide, Furtună surpassed former Prime Minister Ion Chicu and former parliament member Octavian Țîcu, and she obtained almost twice as many votes in Gagauzia as its former Governor Irina Vlah. Moldovan sociologist Vasile Cantarji noted that Gagauzia, Orhei and Taraclia had a rich history of electoral fraud committed by Shor and his group.[14] In the second round, Furtună endorsed the aforementioned Stoianoglo, the opponent of then incumbent president Sandu who had been proposed by the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM).[5] Furtună was in the ninth place on the ballot's order of candidates for the first round.[4]

Greater Moldova Party

See also: Greater Moldova Party

On 2 March 2025, Furtună took over leadership of the Greater Moldova Party (PMM). Despite her anti-European stance during her 2024 presidential election campaign, after becoming the party's leader, Furtună declared to Ziarul de Gardă that the process of Moldova's integration into the European Union (EU) could not be stopped "and I do not see it opportune to stop it either, especially at this stage, when there are also benefits".[15] Furtună presented the party on 25 March, stating that it advocated for Moldova's neutrality and the restoration of the "Moldovan language" over Romanian as the official language in Moldova. The party would also seek to implement a tax reform, industrialize the state, reform the educational system, provide fair pensions, support small businesses, optimize institutions and redistribute military spending.[16]

In a July analytical article for Romanian newspaper Libertatea, Romanian disinformation expert Nicolae Țibrigan described Furtună as employing a populist, pro-Moldovan statehood and anti-system discourse, spreading messages against the West and against Sandu and making extensive use of social media for her campaigning, particularly Facebook, Telegram and TikTok. In the opinion of Țibrigan, in the context of the then upcoming 2025 Moldovan parliamentary election, Furtună seemed to play a calibrated role aimed at dividing centrist voters and to fuel the "soft radicalization" of a sector of voters who, unwilling to vote for Sandu's ruling PAS, would not fit either with more moderate opposition parties (PSRM, Alternative).[17]

On 18 May, Furtună called for the return of Ukraine's region of Budjak to Moldova and ensure access to the sea for Moldova, stating that "I know how to return Budjak today, and this is more relevant than ever".[18] On 2 July, after having visited the Putna Monastery in Romania where prominent Voivode of Moldavia Stephen the Great is buried, Furtună stated that "we address all Moldovans whether they live east or west of the Prut, in the north or in the south", "we are the same people, with deep roots, a pure soul and a history that unites us, not separate us" and "we will move forward for Greater Moldova".[19] In reaction, Moldovan politician and former Minister of Defense Anatol Șalaru called Furtună "a joke in bad taste even for the Russians", who were hoping that she would become "a Călin Georgescu of the Republic of Moldova" as he stated.[1] Furthermore, having been asked in an April interview about the idea of Moldova's potential unification with Romania, Furtună stated "only if this country will be called Greater Moldova and the Parliament will be in Chișinău, and if the president will be Victoria Furtună";[20] she had previously criticized the commemoration of the Day of the Union of Bessarabia with Romania every 27 March by unionist Moldovans.[21]

On 15 July, the EU expanded its list of sanctioned Moldovan politicians and entities close to Shor, including Furtună among others. The EU deemed these individuals and entities responsible for actions aimed at destabilizing or threatening Moldova's sovereignty and independence. As a result of the sanctions, Furtună would no longer be able to travel to the EU, and any asset of hers within EU member states would be blocked.[22] On 25 July, Moldova's Interinstitutional Supervisory Council, headed by prime minister Dorin Recean, included most of these individuals and entities, including Furtună, on the Moldovan authorities' sanctions list, as they "help Shor bring disorder and destabilization to our country" as Recean stated, which would result in their bank accounts being blocked.[23] Switzerland joined the EU's 15 July sanctions against Furtună and the others on 12 August.[24]

A report by the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova (CEC) on the results of the financial monitoring of Furtună's initiative group and campaign during the 2024 presidential election and EU membership constitutional referendum,[25] which took place from 6 November 2024 to 31 July 2025,[26] found that the financial reports submitted by Furtună to the CEC generally corresponded to primary accounting records,[25] although 229,636 lei[26] used for the development of a website, videos and their promotion were not reflected in her reports.[25] On 14 August, the CEC asked Furtună to pay this amount of money to the state budget before 17:00 EEST on 19 August since it did not appear in the financial reports of her campaign and was used in violation of legal provisions.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Victoria Furtună, acuzată în România de trădare și propagandă pentru război: Dezvăluirile fostului ministru Șalaru". Ziarul Național (in Romanian). 3 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Auge, Louis (30 July 2024). "Moldovan anti-corruption prosecutor Victoria Furtună announces candidacy for President". EU Reporter.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Victoria Furtună – Portret de candidat" (in Romanian). Realitatea TV. 7 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Portretul candidatului la alegerile prezidențiale: Cine este Victoria Furtună". Știri.md (in Romanian). 4 October 2024.
  5. ^ a b c ""Candidata din rețeaua lui Șor", Victoria Furtună îndeamnă cetățenii să-l voteze pe Alexandr Stoianoglo". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian). 29 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d Arvintii, Ecaterina (22 April 2024). "Ex-procurorul Victoria Furtună a apelat la judecată: cere despăgubiri de un milion de lei de la președinta Maia Sandu". NewsMaker (in Romanian).
  7. ^ Bolotnicov, Cristian (30 July 2024). "De la Tiraspol, fosta procuroare Victoria Furtună și-a anunțat candidatura la prezidențiale" (in Romanian). Radio Europa Liberă Moldova.
  8. ^ Cornea, Sergiu (2024). "Viziunile de politică externă ale candidaților la funcția de Președinte al Republicii Moldova (octombrie–noiembrie 2024)" (PDF). Buletinul științific al Universității de Stat "B.P. Hasdeu" din Cahul. Științe sociale (in Romanian). 18 (2): 64–65. doi:10.5281/zenodo.14714081.
  9. ^ "Oamenii lui Șor, campanie și implicare directă pentru Victoria Furtună". Știri.md (in Romanian). 30 September 2024.
  10. ^ Scripnic, Olga (11 October 2024). "Activiștii lui Șor, la întâlnirea Victoriei Furtună cu alegătorii. Candidata la șefia țării: "Eu știu ce trebuie să fac pentru popor" (VIDEO)". Agora (in Romanian).
  11. ^ "/VIDEO/ Șor mizează pe Furtună la prezidențiale? Fosta procuroare nu neagă legătura cu fugarul penal" (in Romanian). TV8. 4 October 2024.
  12. ^ Mihailovici, Stela; Bejan, Ștefan (14 October 2024). "/VIDEO/ În numele Kremlinului! Cum au adunat preoții din subordinea lui Marchel semnături pentru Victoria Furtună" (in Romanian). TV8.
  13. ^ "Republic of Moldova: presidential election and constitutional referendum, 20 October and 3 November 2024 – ODIHR Election Observation Mission final report" (PDF). Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 14 March 2025. p. 39.
  14. ^ Soltan, Irina (24 October 2024). "În top la Taraclia, Orhei și în UTA Găgăuzia, dar cu rezultate modeste în restul țării. Ce voturi a adunat Victoria Furtună la prezidențiale". Agora (in Romanian).
  15. ^ "Victoria Furtună, candidata la prezidențiale (in)dependentă de rețeaua lui Șor, preia conducerea unui partid cu "vocație europeană"". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian). 18 March 2025.
  16. ^ Dolghii, Ana Maria (25 March 2025). "Furtună și-a prezentat partidul: "Vom restabili limba moldovenească, transmisă prin laptele matern" (VIDEO)". NewsMaker (in Romanian).
  17. ^ Bogdan, Sidonia (8 July 2025). "Nicolae Țibrigan, expert în dezinformare rusă: "E nevoie de discernământ în cazul decidenților de la București care încearcă să-l tot "spele" pe Ceban de asocierea lui cu Moscova"". Libertatea (in Romanian).
  18. ^ Yemets, Mariya (19 May 2025). "Молдовська політикиня з групи Шора виступила за анексію частини Одещини". European Pravda (in Ukrainian).
  19. ^ "Victoria Furtună și Alexei Lungu au participat la Putna la comemorarea morții lui Ștefan cel Mare. Reprezentanții lăcașului susțin că Furtună ar fi filmat "pe ascuns" un clip video, mințind că "sunt excursioniști"". Ziarul de Gardă (in Romanian). 4 July 2025.
  20. ^ Găină, Ala (23 April 2025). "Victoria Furtună, despre posibilitatea Unirii cu România: "Numai dacă această țară se va numi Moldova Mare și Parlamentul să fie la Chișinău, iar președinte să fie Victoria Furtună"" (in Romanian). Liber TV.
  21. ^ Găină, Ala (27 March 2025). "(VIDEO) Victoria Furtună critică marcarea Unirii Basarabiei cu România: "Ce sărbătoriți, domnilor?"" (in Romanian). Liber TV.
  22. ^ "UE extinde lista neagră: Doi deputați și cinci lideri de partide din Moldova, sancționați pentru acțiuni de destabilizare - VIDEO" (in Romanian). ProTV Chișinău. 15 July 2025.
  23. ^ Tcaci, Constantin (27 July 2025). "/VIDEO/ Lista sancțiunilor se extinde: Șase persoane și mai multe structuri afiliate lui Șor, cu conturile blocate" (in Romanian). TV8.
  24. ^ Ungureanu, Sandu (13 August 2025). "Швейцария присоединилась к санкциям ЕС против шоровцев". Nokta (in Russian).
  25. ^ a b c Ungureanu, Sandu (6 August 2025). "ЦИК проверил прошлогодние расходы шоровских партий и Виктории Фуртунэ". Nokta (in Russian).
  26. ^ a b c Vlah, Cristina (14 August 2025). "CEC sesizează Procuratura. Patru partide ale lui Șor, acuzate de finanțări ilegale de peste 2,9 mln de lei". Deschide.MD (in Romanian).
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