ABOUT THE EVENT
The 2025 Money, Security & Democracy Conference—part of the Money in Politics regional series launched in 2016—offers a platform for peer exchange and strategic dialogue on the intersection of political finance, electoral security, and digital resilience.
This year’s edition of the Money in Politics series emphasizes regional trends, challenges, and cross-border risks, particularly those related to illicit financing of politics, foreign interference, online electoral campaigns, cryptocurrency use, vote buying, and disinformation.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
30+ distinguished speakers, including election experts and international development leaders
Angelica Caraman
Chairperson, Central Electoral Commission of Moldova
Dorin Recean
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova
Máté Csicsai
Deputy Head of Mission, EU Delegation to Chisinau, Moldova
Pavel Postica
Deputy Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission
Dana Munteanu
Secretary, Central Electoral Commission of Moldova
Skye Christensen
Chief Technical Advisor, UNDP
Alexander Shlyk
International Political Finance Expert, UNDP
Sam van der Staak
Director for Europe, International IDEA
Falk LANGE
Head of the Council of Europe in Chisinau
Sunny Ahmed
Development Director, Moldova and the Eastern Neighbourhood, British Embassy
Ajay Patel
Special Advisor, UNDP
Pete Mills
Regulation Guidance Manager, UK Electoral Commission
Sam Power
IFES Expert, Lecturer in Politics, University of Bristol
Lina Petroniene
Chair, Central Election Commission of Lithuania
Pavel Cabacenco
Senior Regional Election Advisor, IFES
Septimius Pârvu
Coordinator of the electoral program at the Romanian think tank Expert Forum
Veronika Bilkova
Vice-President of the Venice Commission and member in respect of Czechia, CoE
Andrii Yevstihnieiev
Member of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine
Constantin Rada
General Director, Department for Control of Political Party and Electoral Campaign Financing, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania
Khushbu Agrawal
Advisor, International IDEA
Magnus Ohman
Senior Global Political Finance Adviser, IFES
Alberto Fernandez Gibaja
Head of Programme, Digitalisation and Democracy, International IDEA
Suad Arnautović
Member of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Benjamin Laepple
expert
Victor Tănase
Expert, IRI Moldova
Liri Kopaci-Di-Michelle
Head, PACE Parliamentary and Electoral Cooperation Division, Council of Europe
Vladimir Misev
Senior election expert, Council of Europe
Yves-Marie Doublet
Expert of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), Council of Europe
Diane Duggan
Head of Legal, Electoral Commission of Ireland
Mariana Focșa
Analyst, Democratic Processes Monitoring Program, PromoLex Association
Alina Radu
Director, Ziarul de Garda, Moldova’s leading weekly newspaper with a focus on investigative journalism
Gheorghe Badia
Head of Division, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Division (NBM)
Roman Porubin
Prosecutor, Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Moldova
Zosia Lutkiewicz
Leader of Polish election observers and board member of EPDE and GNDEM, regional and global networks
Kristina Voko
Executive Director, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Albania, BIRN Albania
AGENDA
- Day 1 – Tuesday, 8 July 2025
09:00 – 09:30
Registration & Welcome Coffee
09:30 – 10:30
Keynote remarks: Political Finance in an Age of Hybrid Threats
10:30 – 11:00
Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:30
Session 1 – Cross-Border Influence: Third-Party Actors and Foreign Interference in Campaign Finance
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 15:30
Session 2 – Escaping Oversight: Strengthening Oversight of Digital Campaigning for Transparency and Trust
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee Break
16:00 – 17:30
Session 3 – Beyond Cash: From Crowdfunding to Crypto: Navigating Digital Political Finance
- Day 2 – Wednesday, 9 July 2025
09:30 – 11:00
Session 4 – Banks, Regulators, and Electoral Bodies: Building a Regional Shield Against Illicit Funding
11:00 – 11:30
Coffee Break
11:30 – 13:00
Session 5 – Regional Peer Exchange: Practical Approaches to Political Finance Transparency and Oversight
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 15:00
Closing Reflections & Next Steps: Strengthening Electoral Resilience Through Political Finance Reform
15:00
Closure
PARTNERS
Owner
Central Electoral Commission of Moldova
Development Partners
