"The Justice Ministry has filed a request with the Chisinau court to apply the provision of the law on political parties regarding the suspension of the Chance party's activity for six months," an official note said. Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru had warned Chance that it would face sanctions if it failed to submit a report on its spending during the campaign for the November local elections. The authorities had excluded Chance two days before that vote. The party was set up after the Shor party was dissolved, at the time citing "national security reasons" and alluding to accusations of Russian interference in Moldova. The head of Moldova's Intelligence and Security Service (SIS), Alexandru Musteata, denounced at the time "actions to influence electoral processes in order to promote the interests of the foreign state, Russia, by the organised criminal group led by Ilan Shor", a fugitive Moldovan oligarch who was sentenced in absentia by Chisinau for fraud and currently lives in Israel. In mid-April, the pro-Russian Moldovan opposition, including Chance, held an extraordinary congress in Moscow where it announced the formation of an electoral bloc for the upcoming presidential elections on 20 October, which coincide with a referendum on EU accession. Ilan Shor, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2014 for stealing a billion dollars (around €925 million at current exchange rates) from the Moldovan banking system and money laundering - charges he has always denied - presided over the congress and presented himself as the leader of this electoral bloc. Shor and Chance oppose Moldova's integration into the EU and advocate strengthening political and commercial relations with Russia. In recent years, the Moldovan government has focused on combating Russian influence in the Balkan country's politics and society, in particular by banning the Shor party and restricting media outlets considered close to the Kremlin. With a population of around 2.5 million, Moldova is located between Romania and Ukraine. The Moldovan separatist region of Transnistria has gained prominence since the start of the war in Ukraine due to its ties to Russia and its important geostrategic position. Kiev has even denounced alleged Russian incursions into western Ukraine from the separatist region. Russia maintains a contingent of 1,500 soldiers in Transnistria, whose pro-Moscow separatists have controlled the territory since the civil war in Moldova in 1992. Read Also: Brussels extends autonomous trade rules with Moldova and Ukraine (Portuguese version)