- August 8, 2016
- Posted by: admin
- Categories: News Moldova, SEE News
Three current and former officials from Moldova’s central bank were detained by prosecutors on the morning of August 5, in relation to investigations into money laundering in the former Soviet country, local sources reported. The move was confirmed by a spokesperson for the National Anticorruption Centre, Angela Starinschi.
The three suspects are believed to have ignored information available on money laundering carried out through Moldindconbank (MICB), head prosecutor Viorel Morari confirmed at a press conference after news of the arrests leaked to local media. Veaceslav Platon, a reputed corporate raider believed to control MICB, was recently arrested in Kyiv and Moldovan prosecutors are seeking his extradition.
The three officials detained by Moldovan prosecutors are Emma Tabarta, a former vice-governor of the central bank dismissed in April 2015 after the scandal of the $1bn banking frauds broke, the head of the central bank’s bank supervision department Matei Dohotaru and Vladimir Turcanu, the head of the central bank’s department that authorises banks’ operations and the former head of the supervisory department.
The operations in question took place between 2010 and 2014, Morari added. Prosecutors based their decision to make the arrests on testimony from witnesses.
Moldova stopped the laundering of Russian money through MICB, previously carried out with the support of corrupt judges, back in May 2014, the CNA said on May 25. It added at the time that its investigations into events at the bank were continuing.
MICB is now looking for a strategic investor, after it was revealed to have been involved in the illegal transfer of $46bn from Russia, which is currently being investigated by authorities in Moscow.
5 August, 2016