Vladimir Andronachi’s house arrest has been extended for another 30 days. The decision was taken on Monday, 17 July 2023, by the judge of the Chisinau Court, Buiucani seat.

The judge accepted the prosecutor’s request and extended the preventive measure of house arrest against Vladimir Andronachi until 17 August 2023. At the same time, he rejected the defendants’ request for a finding of violation of the defendant’s fundamental rights and freedoms to issue procedural documents during the criminal proceedings.

According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, on 11 July 2023, the judge rejected the prosecutor’s request to transfer Andronachi’s criminal case to another criminal case (accusing three defendants) pending at the Buiucani Court of Chisinau.

“The defence filed a motion requesting that the criminal cases be joined, but at the hearing the defence waived the motion and requested that the prosecution’s motion be dismissed. It should be noted that the two criminal cases are related due to the same subject of investigation, the same injured party and the same amount of the civil action, as well as the same evidence. The linking of criminal cases is necessary for the proper administration of justice and for the investigation of the offences in question as a whole, as well as for the optimisation of the resources needed for the objective resolution of all aspects of the cases concerned. However, the judge rejected the joinder by a decision of 11 July 2023, which according to the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be appealed,” the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office notes.

The next hearing in this case will take place on 8 August 2023.

Former Democratic MP Vladimir Andronachi, who was expelled in November 2022 by the Ukrainian authorities, is included in the criminal cases “bank fraud” and “metalferos”, which are being handled by the PA and the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS).

According to anti-corruption prosecutor Octavian Iachimovschi, Andronachi is accused in the “bank fraud” case of “fraud in particularly large proportions for the benefit of a criminal organisation” and “money laundering in particularly large proportions for the benefit of a criminal organisation”.

In the “Metalferos” case, Andronachi is charged with “setting up and directing a criminal organisation”, fraud on a particularly large scale and money laundering.