Bank fraud // The criminal case against Vladimir Plahotniuc reached the magistrates' table
The criminal case accusing the former leader of the Democratic Party, Vladimir Plahotniuc, in the "Bank fraud" file has reached the magistrates' table, the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office informs in a statement. He is charged with the creation and management of a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering on a fairly large scale.
According to the information presented by the prosecutors, during the years 2013-2015, Vladimir Plahotniuc would have benefited from financial means stolen from Banca de Economii, Unibank and Banca Socială in the total amount of 39,284,000 dollars and 3,518,705 euros, funds that were used in personal interest.
On May 29, 2023, the Chisinau Court of Appeal rejected the lawyers' approach and upheld without changes the decision of the Chisinau Court based in Ciocana, by which the Anticorruption Prosecutor's approach was admitted regarding the authorization to complete the criminal investigation in the absence of the accused. Currently, the preventive measure in the form of preventive arrest is applied to Vladimir Plahotniuc for a period of 30 days. At the same time, the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office submitted a repeated approach to the Interpol Central National Office in the Republic of Moldova, requesting an additional address to the General Secretariat of the International Criminal Police Organization INTERPOL in order to issue an international wanted notice regarding Plahotniuc. For the crimes committed, the law stipulates punishment in the form of imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.
Seizure was also applied to Vladimir Plahotniuc's assets worth over one billion lei.
We remind you that Vladimir Plahotniuc left the Republic of Moldova in the summer of 2019. He is targeted in several cases of fraud and money laundering and organized crime. As of the end of 2022 and until now, he has been included on the sanctions lists of the US, the UK, the European Union and the UK.
