{"id":1797,"date":"2019-10-13T23:46:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T21:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zdg.md\/eng\/?p=1797"},"modified":"2019-11-03T19:03:29","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T17:03:29","slug":"moldova-announces-national-search-for-fugitive-oligarch-plahotniuc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/moldova-announces-national-search-for-fugitive-oligarch-plahotniuc\/","title":{"rendered":"Moldova Announces National Search For Fugitive Oligarch, Vladimir Plahotniuc"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Moldova\u2019s Anticorruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Plahotniuc\u2019s, the country\u2019s biggest oligarch and the former leader of the Democratic Party. He is accused of large-scale money laundering through companies explicitly set up to circulate large amounts of funds. According to the Anticorruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office, the money was from the three Moldovan banks involved in the \u201cBillion Case.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 8, 2019, a representatives of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office summoned former Democratic Party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc for hearings as a suspect in a money laundering case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVladimir Plahotniuc is suspected of committing the offense provided by art.243 paragraph (3) letter b) of Moldova\u2019s Criminal Code \u2013 money laundering, committed in very large proportions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The institution uses this public notification considering that there is no other way of informing the citizen Vladimir Plahotniuc about his appointment before the prosecutor.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office draws attention to respecting the principle of presumption of innocence regarding the citizen Vladimir Plahotniuc,\u201d <\/em>the representative of the Prosecutor\u2019s Office announced in the Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Anticorruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office declared that the criminal prosecution commenced on September 23, 2019.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the prosecutors during the years 2013-2015, Vladimir Plahotniuc created a criminal scheme with the purpose of converting, transferring, acquiring, owning and using some goods that he definitely knew constituted illicit income. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to conceal the illicit nature of the goods, Plahotniuc set up \u2013 through intermediaries \u2013 several domestic and foreign companies including Longford Partners Ltd, Introstyle Solution Ltd, Rowallan Overseas, Nobil Air Limited, Tukumaan Limited, Srl Finp Invest, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The money \u2013 about $18 million and \u20ac3.5 million in illicit funds \u2013 was circulated through those companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plahotniuc was aware that the money constituted illicit financial means, obtained through non-performing bank loans from Banca De Economii, Unibank, and Banca Social\u0103. These three banks were involved in the 2014 \u201cBillion Case,\u201d which according to the Kroll 2 report involved $1 billion \u2013 or around 12 percent of Moldova\u2019s GDP \u2013 stolen through illicit loans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n