The Republic of Moldova has not yet requested the extradition of Veaceslav Platon. Dragalin: "We want to wait until we have enough arguments"
The Republic of Moldova has not yet requested the extradition of Veaceslav Platon from the UK because there are certain problems at Interpol level, said the head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Veronica Dragalin. During the criminal trial, the controversial businessman, who is named in the Laundromat case for fraud and money laundering, did not appear in court, and law enforcement authorities managed to bring charges against him in his absence.
Veaceslav Platon is being investigated in three criminal cases pending in court and three others at the prosecution stage, said Veronica Dragalin, head of the anti-corruption prosecution. She said the authorities had not requested the extradition of the fugitive businessman, although the law enforcement authorities know his whereabouts.
"We, at the prosecution stage, have the option to submit the indictment to a person who is abroad and if we manage to do so, the law allows us to go ahead with the case in the absence of the accused. So, we have taken these steps so that the charge can be brought in three separate cases and we can complete the prosecution and send the case to trial. In addition, we have other criminal cases already pending in court. As regards Veaceslav Platon, we have not yet sent an extradition request for him, we have had impediments at Interpol. We want to wait until we have enough arguments why extradition is necessary", Veronica Dragalin said.
Controversial businessman Veaceslav Platon is under investigation in several criminal cases and is a prime suspect in the Laundromat case. Between 2011 and 2014 he was allegedly involved in fraud and money laundering to the tune of 22 billion dollars.
During the criminal trial, Veaceslav Platon evaded appearing in court, so, at the request of the state prosecutor, in August 2021, the court ordered the application of the measure of preventive arrest, in the absence of the suspect. Recently, Veaceslav Platon, who has been wanted since the summer of 2021, was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Moscow court.
At the same time, two months ago, Canada put him on the international sanctions list for destabilising the situation in Moldova.
