Moldova charges former top general with high treason after The Insider exposes him as GRU informant

Former Chief of the Moldovan General Staff Igor Gorgan, whose espionage activities The Insider exposed in an earlier investigation, has been charged with high treason. The development was reported by Emil Gaitur, the spokesperson for the Moldovan Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS).

“The individual in the case file previously announced by PCCOCS prosecutors has been assigned the status of defendant. The criminal investigation is continuing...and the person is presumed innocent until a final judgment, according to the law,” Gaitur stated.

Earlier, The Insider gained access to Telegram correspondence between former Chief of the Moldovan General Staff Igor Gorgan and his GRU handler, Russian Colonel Alexei Makarov. Gorgan regularly reported to Makarov on Moldova's domestic political situation and provided information on visits from Ukrainian Ministry of Defense representatives, who came to Moldova to purchase military equipment and ammunition.

Gorgan served in the General Staff until late 2021, when the country’s new Western-leaning president Maia Sandu requested his resignation. Before the July 2023 mass expulsion of Russian spies working in Moldova under diplomatic cover, Gorgan managed to secure a post at the United Nations. Leveraging his remaining connections in the Moldovan Defense Ministry, Gorgan continued to be a key GRU informant.

The Insider’s investigation was conducted jointly with the Moldovan publication Malenkaya Strana («Маленькая страна»).