The robbing of the Moldovan banking system was a long-lasting process that started in the Communist period and the National Bank didn’t stop it, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Iurie Leanca stated in the talk show “Emphasis on today” on TVR Moldova channel, IPN reports.

“No one can say exactly when the money was stolen. Some say the theft was committed during one day, in November 2014, but something like this is impossible. It was a longer process that started in the Communist period. Maybe the sums stolen then were smaller. Then they started to issue toxic loans without coverage. Later they took out other loans to cover the old ones and the current situation was thus reached,” stated Leanca.

The ex-Premier said he spotted the irregularities committed at Banca de Economii (BEM) and accused the National Bank of not stopping the embezzlement process. “When I came to head the Government, Banca de Economii already had very large debts. I didn’t have the necessary leverage and I’m not a specialist in finance. The National Bank that possesses all the instruments didn’t fulfill its duties and did almost nothing,” he said.

Iurie Leanca admitted that when he served as Prime Minister he had several meetings with Ilan Shor, some of which were informal. “When I saw what was going on at the BEM, I started to look for solutions. I met with different people to establish the state of affairs and decide what could be done. As the BEM president, Ilan Shor was invited to the meeting of the Government to provide explanations. I think I met with him 4-5 times, but I cannot say exactly, to discuss the situation at the BEM,” said the Deputy Speaker.

He noted that the concession of the Chisinau International Airport was necessary. “The airport could have been closed as it was in a deplorable state and the runway was damaged. Things changed radically after this was conceded,” he stated.