Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Spinu said he has filed a lawsuit against Chisinau Mayor Ceban.

KISINEV, 16 January – RIA Novosti. Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu knowledgeable On Monday, he filed a lawsuit against Chisinau mayor Ion Ceban, who had previously accused him of being involved in corruption schemes to buy natural gas.

Last November, the mayor of Chisinau claimed on television that Spinu and the head of Moldovagaz company, Vadim Ceban, had hatched a scheme to steal money from gas supplies, the final beneficiaries of which were two foreign experts. Cheban also expressed the view that there is no need for a state of emergency in the energy sector.

“The court has accepted my claim against the mayor of Chisinau. The first hearing will be held on March 28, 2023. This character will have to answer for all the lies told to me,” Spinu wrote on his Telegram channel Monday.

The Deputy Prime Minister often criticizes the mayor of Chisinau in the media sphere. According to the preliminary decision of the ruling Action and Solidarity party, Spinu can be nominated as a candidate for mayor. Political analysts in Chisinau attribute the rising rhetoric between Ceban and Spinu to the autumn local elections.

Moldova is experiencing an energy crisis due to rising energy prices. Last year, gas tariffs increased almost seven times, and for electricity – almost four times. Earlier, Spinu had said that the purchase price of gas could reach $1,230 per thousand cubic meters in January, “because there are record gas prices in 2022.”

In December last year, Chisinau returned to purchase electricity from Moldavskaya GRES, owned by the Russian company Inter RAO (located in the unrecognized Transnistria territory), with which it suspended business relations on November 1. “Moldovagaz” supplies Pridnestrovie with the necessary amount of blue fuel, and Moldova itself uses gas from accumulated reserves (more than 200 million cubic meters).