As money flew out of the three Moldovan banks involved in the “Bank Fraud”, Brazilian company Embraer delivered two new planes to two beneficiaries in Moldova. One Embraer Legacy 650 business class aircraft went to Ilan Shor and another identical one – to oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc. RISE Moldova traced the money trail and shows the location where oligarch Plahotniuc hid his plane.

Kroll 2. Departure runway
In the Kroll 2 report, we were particularly struck by the part where private investigators looked at foreign companies and bank accounts in several countries, tracking transactions larger than half a million dollars.

Suspected “missing billion” money has been scattered to dozens of countries including Latvia, Cyprus, China, Russia, Estonia and Switzerland. Some of it also ended up in offshore accounts at banks in Moldova.

At Victoriabank, the largest suspicious amount was $21 million. This money went into the accounts of the Cypriot firm Seppota Services Limited. “The bank statement is pending and the final destination of these funds is currently unknown,” the 2018 Kroll 2 report said.

Plahotniuc’s plane
It is an Embraer Legacy 650 (ERJ135BJ), business category, with a maximum cruising speed of 828 km per hour. On board, 14 passengers can board and the seats can be converted into sleeping accommodation.

The galley is spacious, with fridge, microwave and ice drawer.

Passengers have access to internet and satellite phone.

It’s an “executive sky limousine” – that’s how MJET GmbH, an Austrian company with employees and associates in Moldova, describes it.

In 2015, MJET GmbH collected almost half a million euros from the company controlled by oligarch Plahotniuc – Rowallan Overseas SA. The money was transferred “for charter services”.

For similar services, MJET GmbH also received money from the company controlled by Ilan Shor – Hezburg LLP.

Shor’s plane
A plane similar to Plahotniuc’s, during the same period – December 2014, also arrived in Ilan Shor’s fleet. It had the serial number “14501191”, similar as the other aircraft, only the last digit being different.

The aircraft was owned by companies controlled by Shor: Nobil Air and Classica Air, later sold to an Austrian firm – Avcon Jet.

With this plane, in 2016, the former president of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambaev, travelled to Chisinau for a secret visit with oligarch Plahotniuc.

RISE Moldova contacted Ilan Shor and sent him questions through Shor Party spokeswoman Alina Sargu, but received no response.

“In the criminal case “Bank Fraud” the circumstances with reference to the purchase of the Embraer Legacy 650 aircraft by Classica Air SRL are also under investigation,” anti-corruption prosecutor Alexandru Cernei told us.

Read more details in the RISE Moldova investigation.