Thirty days in custody for the owner of a car park affiliated to former Democratic MP Vladimir Andronachi, who blackmailed his former partner. The announcement was made on Saturday, August 19, by the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS).                           

The measure of preventive arrest against the accused was applied at the request of the PCCOCS prosecutors, by magistrates of the Chisinau Court (Ciocana Branch).                          

Law enforcement officers detained on Thursday, August 17, in Chisinau, a man who allegedly ordered the blackmail of his former business partner, from whom he allegedly received illegally since 2019 more than 5 000 000 lei. According to the General Police Inspectorate (IGP), the facts began while the victim was serving his sentence in Cricova prison for a swindle.                          

At the time, according to the authorities, in April 2023, the sportsman Ivan Șoltoianu, who was serving his sentence for murder, allegedly threatened the man and his family with physical violence and death. The extortion continued after he had served his prison sentence, involving a suspect from Georgia – a “thief in law,” who is to be announced as a wanted person by the Moldovan authorities, according to the IGP.                          

The victim is 45 years old and the joint business she had with the suspect arrested Thursday was in the car-park business.                

Specifically, it was a parking lot affiliated with former Democratic MP Vladimir Andronachi, on trial in the “Bank Fraud” case, according to sources at the Daily Guard. ZdG has learned that the person detained is Vadim Chirpii, the manager of the “Dream Auto” car park in Chisinau. The company deals with the sale of cars.                           

Earlier, the organizer of the extortion – the head of the criminal organization “Nicu Patron” – was also announced on the case. Investigations are continuing, during which the persons concerned are presumed innocent, according to the law.                         

The sportsman Ivan Șoltoianu was placed in custody in the spring. He is also a defendant in the case of the physical assault of a man walking his dog in the Botanica sector of Chisinau in March 2022. The sentence on that case has been challenged by the PCCOCS prosecutor and the Chisinau Court of Appeal is due to rule.