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The document, prepared by a group of MPs from the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), was registered in the Parliament two days ago and voted in the first reading on October 28, supported by 54 MPs.
One of the authors of the draft law, the MP Dumitru Alaiba, wrote on his Facebook page that the initiative was registered as a matter of urgency. According to him, the document defines strategic areas for state security and stipulates the subjects that are prohibited to carry out investment activities in Moldova. The MPs claim that the topicality of the issue of assessing direct foreign investments has been growing because of “concerns about the origin of investments, given that some investment projects were based on money from illegal sources or the actual beneficiary was not the one declared.”
The document lists areas of importance for state security, including the media and audiovisual services, access to personal data or the capacity to control this information, administration of public state registers, information security, and so on.
According to proposals, investment in the mentioned areas cannot be carried out by foreign individuals and legal entities that are resident in offshore zones; have already been involved in money laundering and financing of terrorism; might conduct illegal or criminal activities, according to information from competent authorities; have or had connections with organized groups, special services, or groups of foreign countries that have connections with international terrorist organizations or with people allegedly belonging to them; might increase the risk or represent a threat for the state security; and so on.
The authors of this initiative have provided that the examination of investment projects in the mentioned areas shall be performed by a collegial body under the Government, the Council for Promotion of Investment Projects Important for State Security. Thus, any potential investor in the mentioned areas will have to obtain a preliminary approval from this Council. For this, the potential investor will have to submit a number of documents, including the shareholding structure, the final beneficiary, the criminal records for individual shareholders or actual beneficiaries, the financial statement. The Council will examine requests and issue any of these decisions: to grant preliminary approval; to refuse preliminary approval; or to grant preliminary approval conditionally.
Today, MPs also voted in final reading for the draft law on annulling offshore secret.
