A former director of the Civil Aviation Authority (AAC) was detained in a money laundering case this morning, August 15, by National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) officers and anti-corruption prosecutors. The former head of the AAC, who served until January 2021 in the Authority, is suspected that, together with other former employees of the aviation entity and a former mayor of the capital, he committed the crime of money laundering in particularly large proportions.

According to the sources of Ziarul de Gardă, Eugeniu Coștei is the former director of the CAA who was detained by NAC officers and prosecutors.

The four persons under investigation, according to the NAC, allegedly worked for an aviation consultancy company and signed several contracts with similar entities abroad.

“During the criminal prosecution, it was found that the money received for the services would have gone into the accounts of the Moldovan company, but also into the accounts of offshore companies. Subsequently, the money that arrived offshore would have been distributed to the accounts of several puppet companies in order to legalize its origin. Finally, the laundered funds ended up on the personal cards of the four suspects,” the NAC said in a statement.

At this stage, NAC officers and prosecutors are investigating a sum of more than €2 million, which was cashed in by the company’s beneficiaries. Part of this would not have been reported to the Moldovan tax authorities, being concealed through the use of offshore banking systems.

“The investigations carried out by the NAC and the PA also identified that several companies involved in the fraudulent transactions of the mentioned company would have been connected to the money laundering investigated in the ‘bank fraud’ and ‘laundromat’ cases,” the statement added.

On Monday morning, 15 August, criminal investigations were carried out at the homes of the suspects. The former director of the CAA has been detained for 72 hours and three other people are to be questioned.