Moldovan President Maia Sandu appointed Victor Fortuna, who illegally arrested the former chief prosecutor Alexandru Stoyanoglo in 2021, to head the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS). This was stated by the former president, leader of the Party of Socialists Igor Dodon.
„Sandu promised he would take off his white gloves. She took them off and put on the “yellow”. Victor Furtuna to head the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), which jailed Alexandra Stoyanoglo in 2021. Is this your “judicial reform", wrote Dodon in the Telegramchannel.
Stoyanoglo was appointed as Moldova's chief prosecutor after a competition involving EU experts, which was held by the Sandu-led government in 2019. However, as early as 2021. he was removed from office and arrested on charges of abuse of office. The reason was old media publications presented by an MP from the ruling Action and Solidarity Party, which supports Sandu.
Stoyanoglo called his case political and said his arrest was revenge against Sandu, who insisted on opening criminal cases against Dodon and the leaders of the biggest opposition parties as she wanted to establish control over the Prosecutor General's Office. Stoyanoglo's guilt was not proven in court. He also turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which recognized that the removal was carried out with violations, the official was deprived of the right to defense.
In the summer of 2024 Stojanoglo announced his decision to participate in the presidential elections in Moldova, Sandu sharply criticized this decision, and the prosecutor's office announced the reopening of the investigation in a new case against the former public prosecutor. According to the CEC, in the second round, Sandu received 55.33% of the vote, ahead of Stojanoglo, but in Moldova itself, Stojanoglo defeated her, receiving 51%. The advantage over his rival was achieved thanks to the voting of more than 300,000 Moldovan labor migrants in more than 200 polling stations in EU countries. The opposition Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova, which nominated Stojanoglu, called Sandu an illegitimate president who is recognized only by its “sponsors and curators from abroad”.