Bank fraud: The case against Vladimir Plahotniuc, sent to trial in his absence
The criminal case "Bank Fraud" in which the former leader of the democrats Vladimir Plahotniuc is targeted has been sent to court in his absence. A decision to this effect was handed down today by the Court of Appeal, which rejected the lawyers' appeal and upheld the decision of the Chisinau Ciocana Municipal Court unchanged. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced this.
"Today, the Chisinau Court of Appeal rejected the lawyers' appeal and upheld without changes the decision of the Chisinau Ciocana Municipal Court, which admitted the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office's request to authorize the completion of the criminal proceedings in the absence of the defendant Vladimir Plahotniuc in the "Bank Fraud" case," the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said.
Vladimir Plahotniuc has been indicted for creating and leading a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering. According to prosecutors, he allegedly received between 2013 and 2015 more than $39 million and 3.5 million euros in bank loans fraudulently obtained from the three banks that were robbed in 2014 through companies founded by Ilan Șor in the names of intermediaries.
On 17 November 2022, the court of first instance, the Ciocana-based Chisinau Court, authorised the completion of the criminal proceedings in Vladimir Plahotniuc's absence, a decision appealed by lawyers to the Court of Appeal.
