In Moldova, the prosecutor's office sent materials to the court on another episode from the criminal case under the general title "Bank Fraud".
According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, in particular, it's about three defendants accused of fraud and laundering on an especially large scale, committed in the interests of criminal organizations. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office does not mention the names of the persons, but, according to some media reports, this case concerns former MP Vladimir Andronachi, his wife, and a family confidant. The Prosecutor General's Office claims that these three, together with other persons, simulated the conclusion of an investment contract for the reconstruction and restoration of real estate with Banca de Economii and thus stole about 32 million lei from this bank. The terms of the contract were worded in such a way as to put the Banca de Economii at an economic disadvantage, and the company that was supposed to carry out the renovation and restoration of the property to become the new BEM building did not even have the necessary permits (building permit, etc.) and opportunities to fulfill the contract. According to the investigation, the embezzlement took place in the last week of November 2014, and the last tranche of money was made on the day the special administration was established in the Banca de Economii. The money was laundered in 2015. Subsequently, the money was laundered and integrated into the economy of Moldova and other countries. The laundered money was used by the members of the criminal organization for personal purposes, including some mixed with other sources stolen from the Banca de Economii and used to buy the plane. "BEM managed to return only about 6 million lei from the stolen amount," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement. It is noted that at the stage of the criminal investigation, the Agency for the Compensation of Criminally Obtained Property seized the assets of the accused in the amount of about 15 million lei. “At this stage, three participants in these acts are evading criminal prosecution, investigative actions have been appointed against them in order to search for them. At the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, arrest warrants were issued in absentia. We confirm that the investigative actions in the Bank Fraud case are ongoing, the criminal investigation team is finalizing other episodes, about which the public will be informed,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.// 04.04.2022 — InfoMarket
