
Two ex-heads of the National Bank of Moldova were charged in the case of "bank fraud".
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office sent to court a new episode of the "bank fraud" case, in which appear the ex-president and one of the ex-vice-presidents of the National Bank. Former leaders in the NBM, according to investigators, were accomplices in fraud committed through their official position in favor of a criminal organization. Also, using their official position, they participated in money laundering committed by several persons. According to the indictment, in 2014 the former head of the NBM and two vice-presidents of the National Bank, acting in the interests of a criminal organization headed by Vladimir Plahotniuc and other persons, developed and implemented a plan to withdraw funds from the banking system of Moldova in especially large amounts. “During 2014, the president and two vice-presidents of the National Bank, as persons associated with a criminal organization, removed obstacles and provided the necessary tools for the theft of funds at the disposal of Unibank, Banca Socială and Banca de Economii, including through approval in the management bodies of these banks of persons associated with an organized criminal group headed by Ilan Sor, and non-interference in the activities of these banks,” the Prosecutor General’s Office reports. As a result, members of the criminal organization managed to withdraw from three banks an amount equivalent to 2 billion 544.7 million lei and integrate this money into the legal money circulation of Moldova and other countries. In order to possibly compensate for the damage caused and possible special confiscation, prosecutors, with the permission of the court, seized the property of the ex-president of the National Bank and one ex-vice-president of the National Bank worth 4 million 164.7 thousand lei. With regard to the second former vice-president of the National Bank, the criminal investigation cannot be completed, since he is abroad, so the charge is directed to his country of residence. //22.09.2022 - InfoMarket.