The National Bank of Moldova does not want to bear financial responsibility for the actions of former leaders accused of complicity in the “theft of a billion” - Anca Dragu.
In particular, the President of the NBM asked the judges to reconsider their decision regarding the involvement of the institution she heads in the process as a civil defendant. Anca Dragu appealed to the Buiucani district court after the judges who considered the indictment of former President of the National Bank of Moldova Dorin Dragutanu and former Vice President Ion Sturza accepted a motion to involve the National Bank as a civil defendant. In practice, this means that if both are found guilty of complicity in fraud and money laundering, the National Bank of Moldova will be obliged to compensate for the damage they caused. In the same process, are also being considered the criminal cases of the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc and the former management of 3 banks, from where about a billion dollars were stolen in 2014. As reported by Europa Liberă, prosecutors also do not agree with the court's decision. They appealed to the Chisinau Court of Appeal the decision to hold the NBM civilly liable, as well as the connection between the bankers’ case and the Plahotniuc case. Both decisions were made on January 22 and, according to the judges, can be appealed only after the completion of the trial in the court of first instance. The Court of Appeal has not yet made a decision. Prime Minister Dorin Recean criticized both decisions, revealing the names of the judges, which the Association of Judges of Moldova considered an attack on the independence of the judiciary. At the court hearing on March 5, the position of the head of the NBM was presented by the institution’s lawyer. He stated that according to the law, the leadership of the NBM cannot be held criminally liable if it acted with good intentions or inaction. The lawyer argues that from the accusations against Dorin Dragutanu and Ion Sturza, it follows that they acted in bad faith, which means they will bear personal responsibility for their actions. He called “nonsense” the situation in which the NBM will have to pay the money requested by the Ministry of Finance, which is part of the process. Lawyer of Ion Sturza and Dorin Dragutanu believes that the approach was formulated under political pressure and should be rejected. “Dorin Recean allowed himself an unprecedented interference in justice after the decision [on the BNM],” he said. The lawyer also said that after the statements of the Prime Minister, President Maia Sandu convened a meeting of the Supreme Security Council on January 26, in which the leadership of the Chisinau court, and later one of the members of the Supreme Council, also took part. The magistrate confirmed that at that meeting, the case of the “theft of a billion” was discussed, among other things. The lawyer also noted that, according to the NBM report for 2020, his clients legally issued loans to three banks under state guarantees. // 05.03.2024 — InfoMarket
