One of the largest banks in Moldova issued a press release in which it expressed concern about certain actions carried out by the authorities. The bank is also concerned that it found about the authorities’ actions from the press and not from the prosecutors.

Victoriabank, one of the largest banks in Moldova, expressed its concern over the authorities’ actions in the recent period. These are certain procedural actions of the prosecutor’s office from the last period related to the billion case. 

“In our opinion, Victoriabank, in its current form and after the transformation started in 2018, has nothing to do with the case investigated by the authorities. In order to prove this, Victoriabank is collaborating with the authorities and is waiting for the next stages of the process,” the bank stated.

According to some information published on the Telegram channel of the journalist Dumitru Ciorici, the bank’s press release is related to a request to seize several assets of the bank. 

“Unofficial information says that a subdivision of the prosecutor’s office would have requested a seizure of €117 million (2.3 billion lei).

Because the amount is very large, it was ordered to apply the seizure on the central office of the bank, but also on the corresponding accounts. It is not yet clear if this has already happened because, from unofficial banking sources, those from the Agency for the Recovery of Criminal Assets (ARBI) would have understood the great resonance of the case and try first of all to understand the repercussions of such an action,” wrote Dumitru Ciorici on his Telegram channel. 

“International shareholders, Banca Transilvania and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, but also local ones, including the founders of Victoriabank, whose goal is to contribute to the modernization of Moldova’s banking system and support the country’s economic growth, are unpleasantly surprised by the situation and consider that recent actions pose a threat to financial and banking stability and an obstacle to the country’s development. Banca Transilvania and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will resort to all legal means to protect Victoriabank,” the bank’s communiqué reads.

On the other hand, the Prosecutor’s Office issued a brief statement on these actions, claiming that the actions are carried out as part of the investigation of the bank fraud case.

“Prosecutors’ investigations are strictly legal, the efforts of law enforcement being aimed at documenting, within the limits of criminal law, identifying and prosecuting all those involved in the robbery of the national banking system, and last but not least – recovering the damage caused to the state and citizens.

In this regard, we would like to inform you that, in the near future, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office will bring to justice some episodes regarding bank fraud, about which the institution will further inform, within the limits allowed by law, not to affect the further development of investigations into this case,” the Prosecutor’s Office claimed.