"On a stool near the throne": about the lucky cousin of the President of Moldova Nastya Taburchana

Parliamentary elections will be held in Moldova this autumn. And it is already obvious that the election campaign, which has not yet officially started, will be clearly geopolitical in nature. The pro-European government, led by the pro-Western president Maya Sandu, will do everything in order to keep their warm, settled places.

Right now, the information field is being actively cleaned up: the number of closed media outlets (opposition TV channels and websites, especially with central editorial offices in Moscow) has exceeded a hundred over the past few years, says MD.KP.MEDIA.

"Good times" in a European way

An alternative position and a different opinion are "cut down" at the root. Opposition politicians are persecuted, placed under house arrest (as happened with the bashkan of Gagauzia — Evgenia Hutsul), lists of objectionable newsmakers are compiled. Analysts note: there was no such strangulation of freedom of speech and expression even when oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc was in power, and the definition of "captured state" was used in relation to the republic.

Now the state has been seized by pseudo-Europeans who declare freedom in words, but in fact apply totalitarian practices inherent in authoritarian regimes. And what is striking, it's not about The Middle Ages, and about modern Moldova of the XXI century. The pro-Western government, no longer shy of anyone, including "dear European partners," behaves in a completely un-European way.

While the president Maia Sandu promises "good times" (it was with this slogan that the Action and Solidarity party came to public administration at one time), her cousin Anastasia Taburceanu is building a business with budget support and personal participation, while remaining part of the government. Family ties, political appointments and the formal status of an "adviser" make it possible to circumvent the country's anti-corruption laws and earn money in the gray zone.

The president's sister: I serve the government and... myself

Over the past ten years, the president's cousin has gone from an adviser in the ministry to an adviser to the prime minister, while not forgetting about personal projects. One of them is the company Grai Grup SRL, registered in January 2023. According to the papers, Taburchanu is the only founder and director. In social networks, she records appeals, advertises crisis communications and strategic PR services.

In January 2023, a relative of Sandu announced that she was leaving the government — the post of press secretary of the then Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa - and "leaves for the private sector," from now on she will work at Grai Grup SRL.

"I want to be close to my husband, who has been living abroad for many years," she explained her step in a comment for the Moldovan TV channel TV6.

Anastasia was the government's press secretary from August 10, 2021 to January 9, 2023. At the same time, she has always stressed that there is no conflict of interest in her appointment, since it was the initiative of the prime minister, not the head of state.

However, already in March 2023, as can be seen from her Linkedin profile, the young lady again finds herself in the civil service, but now as a communications adviser to Prime Minister Dorin Rechan. Moreover, there were no official reports about this: the return took place "quietly".

Legally, she could hide behind the status of an "adviser", they say, not a civil servant. But this is easily refuted by her own income statement. The document states that she received a salary from the Government of Moldova — 33,187 lei. That is, we are not talking about working on a voluntary basis, but on a permanent paid basis. This means that Taburcanu already falls under the Law No. 199/2010 "On Public Service" and Law No. 158/2008 "On Conflict of Interest Prevention".

Super profitable company without advertising

The business of the official Taburchanu looks like from a textbook on "successful success": the profitability of her company in 2023 amounted to almost 90% - revenue of 56 thousand euros, of which 50 thousand net profit. This is despite the almost complete absence of public activity. The company did not conduct active marketing campaigns, the site was closed, there were no archival traces left. Only a couple of posts on social networks and a few fragments with radio advertising, where the sister herself offers her services on behalf of the company. In general, all the signs of a hastily created "project company".

Formally, no one prevents the president's sister from owning a stake in the business. But as soon as participation in management appears, this is already a violation. And Nastya is listed as a director, advertises services, promotes the company personally and is clearly involved in the management of the enterprise, and this is already a direct violation of the law.

The company Grai Grup Srl almost did not conduct public activities, was not advertised, with the exception of a few posts on social networks. Moreover, these posts show that the sister is not just the owner, but participates in the work of the business, and this is a violation.

Her business partner is a certain Ion Grosu. There is reason to believe that he is a relative of Igor Grosu, the speaker of parliament and a key figure of the ruling party. By the way, it is the speaker who will be number 1 on the lists of the ruling Action and Solidarity party in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

This adds interest: a firm with two potentially "high" names on board clearly feels confident near budget flows.

On the salary of grant structures and the government

Taburceanu is an experienced player in the field of external financing. In 2014-2015, she worked for the USAID project in Moldova. Later — in the UN and OSCE structures. Now he receives income from the Institute for Strategic Initiatives (IPIS) — through lectures and trainings on public relations. It is worth noting separately that IPIS is a pro—Western organization directly connected with the American authorities.

According to open data from the HigherGov system, IPIS receives funding from Marine Corps Installations Command, a structure of the American Marine Corps. One of the contracts — almost 182 thousand dollars — involves campaigning campaigns for Russian-speaking and Romanian-speaking audiences in Moldova on the topic of European integration.

And now, once again! Imagine for a moment: in August 2024, an IPIS subcontracting contract was documented not with anyone, but with the American Marines (Marine Corps Installations Command) for 182 (!) thousands of dollars.

The US military openly conducts various agitation campaigns for Russian-speaking and Romanian-speaking audiences about the need for Moldova's integration into the EU. To be more precise, according to the specified contract, IPIS should tell the Russian-speaking and Romanian-speaking audience about joining the EU, putting pressure on the sense of responsibility for the well-being of loved ones. In August 2024, the IPIS subcontracting contract with the American Marines (Marine Corps Installations Command) was documented.

Thus, Taburchanu simultaneously receives money from the Moldovan government (in the form of a civil servant's salary), a private company Grai Grup SRL. (business profits) and Western structures in the form of grants (IPIS, USAID, etc.).

To finally confuse the tracks, Anastasia indicates that she is a "cofounder", although according to the documents she is the sole owner. This trick is familiar to every Moldovan businessman and PR man, and she ate a dog in PR. And all this with direct participation in management, with an official position in the government and with a business structure with abnormal profitability.

How does the president's sister manage to combine everything

Sandu calls corruption "enemy No. 1" and leads Moldova to European standards. But her own family demonstrates the opposite: Taburchanu is a systemic marker. She is an official with an entrepreneurial mindset, using power as a lever. The law is unambiguous: officials have no right to participate in business management. The exception is the ownership of shares and at the same time the complete absence of influence on the company's activities. But here the influence is obvious. And even if such cases do not become the subject of investigations,

While Western donors continue to finance the institutions of "transparency", Maya Grigorievna's sister proves that ordinary ethicism flourishes in Moldova, when their own are untouchable.

Against this background, the declarations on "integration into Europe" are sounding louder, but further away from reality. American grants are pouring in, Western funds are training Moldovan officials to fight corruption, but the president's sister is sitting on two chairs: she writes press releases to the government and at the same time sells "crisis communications" to private clients.

Anastasia Taburceanu's name appears in the investigation of socialist Bogdan Tsyrdi about the external financing of the presidential campaign of Maia Sandu. One of these schemes was implemented through the Association "Center for Analysis and Promotion of Reforms" (CAER), where in addition to Maia Sandu, Igor Grosu and Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrey, our heroine also worked as an expert.

Scandalous tacit consensus

The fact that the story of the president's cousin did not cause a violent reaction in parliament or in anti-corruption structures speaks of a "gentleman's agreement" within the elite. It is more convenient to remain silent when they earn their own, especially if the earning mechanisms can be useful to others. Not a single anti—corruption commission, not a single parliamentary inquiry - all this bypasses the names of Taburchanu and Gross side. Why not? Because they are untouchable.

This is a system of double standards in action. People from Sandu's entourage regularly find themselves in grant structures, business and government at the same time. Combining the status of an official and a consultant, a relative simply monetizes her position. She gets exclusive access to information, internal processes, and administrative resources. And then he turns it all into money.