Parliament in Moldova will hold a no-confidence vote next week against the coalition government following weeks of protests sparked by a banking scandal.
Protests have been held in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau since early September against government corruption and to demand a probe into $1 billion that vanished from three Moldovan banks before parliamentary elections in November 2014.
The sum is the equivalent of about one eighth of the gross domestic product of Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries.
The pro-European government has promised to investigate the missing money, but rejected calls to step down. That refusal has fueled demands for the no-confidence vote from the opposition, composed mainly of socialists and communists who favor closer ties with Russia.
Former Prime Minister Vlad Filat was detained last week and is being held for questioning in connection with the banking scandal.
Filat, who denies any connection to the crime, heads the pro-European Liberal Democrat Party of Moldova and served as prime minister from 2009 to 2013.
