On September 28, 2016, journalists from RISE Moldova released an investigative report connecting Moldovan Socialist Party MP and media mogul, Corneliu Furculi??, to the transfer of a $1.5 million loan from a Russian offshore company to the pro-Russian Socialist Party in the run up to the 2016 Moldovan presidential election. In the report, RISE journalists said Westerby Ltd, a Russian shell company located in the Bahamas, sent 30 million lei to Farculita’s media company, Exclusiv Media. Exclusiv Media then sent the money to Socialist Party MPs. The loan agreement states it follows all the rules of the Russian Federation, but the loan is from a Bahamas-registered firm transferred from its Swiss account.