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Romanian Executive Denies Russian Spying Allegations

August 14, 201814:26
A Moldovan-born Romanian energy industry executive arrested in Russia for allegedly spying for foreign intelligence services said that she has not been told anything yet about the charges against her.
Russian president Vladimir Putin with Inter-RAO chief Boris Kovalchuk. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin/EPA

A former senior manager of Russian energy company Inter Rao, Karina Tsurkan, who was arrested in Moscow in June for alleged espionage, told news website Meduza that she is still unsure about the charges against her. 

Tsurkan, 42, a Romanian and Russian citizen born in Moldova, was arrested on June 15 and accused by the Russian secret services of stealing and passing over sensitive information from the company to foreign secret services.

“The investigators refuse to tell me what I allegedly handed over, to whom and how. Since I did not do this, I confidently state that the evidence is being kept secret from me, is at the disposal of the investigators, and has been forged. I can’t find another explanation,” Tsurkan said.

“I could have commented on the accusation if it was clear to me. I have not yet been shown the document that I allegedly handed over to someone. I hope to receive more complete information from the investigation,” she said in the interview which according to Meduza site, was conduced why she is still in custory in Moscow.

The Russian Federal Security Service, FSB did not disclose who it believed Tsurkan worked for, but she insisted that she was not working for Moldovan intelligence. 

Inter RAO owns, amongst other things, the biggest thermoelectric power plant in Moldova, located in Cugiurgan, in the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria. The plant is the only source of power for Moldova. In the past, Romania was also a client.

Inter RAO also owns power plants in other sensitive regions for Russia, such as the exclave of Kaliningrad and the annexed peninsula of Crimea. 

The chairman of the Inter RAO management board is Boris Kovalchuk, the son of Yuri Kovalchuk, a banker who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

After Tsurkan’s arrest, the FSB stated that she is a citizen of both Moldova and Romania, but she denies that she still has Moldovan citizenship. 

“I am a Russian citizen and cancelled my Moldovan citizenship in 2016, I do not have any passports other than the Russian one. I did not get access to state secrets,” she said. 

The Romanian embassy in Moscow stated on June 20 that Tsurkan is still a Romanian citizen.

Romania’s Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu told journalists that the authorities in Bucharest were prepared to offer Tsurkan consular assistance, as she is a Romanian citizen, but she has not requested it. 

Melescanu added that he will hold talks with the Romanian intelligence services if “the matter turns out to be real”.

In her interview with Meduza, Tsurkan said that she believes she might be the victim of internal company conflicts, as she was supervising Russia’s energy activities in sensitive areas like Crimea.

“In my line of work I was under pressure, there were threats and warnings,” she said.

A Moscow court recently extended her arrest warrant until November 15.

When she was arrested, Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted sources inside the Russian secret services alleging that she had collaborated with businessmen who had links with Romanian intelligence services.

Relations between Moscow and Bucharest remain chilly as Romania is a NATO member state and has been strengthening military ties with the US in the Black Sea region.

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