Civil society demands that an international investigation should be opened into the bank frauds and cases of money laundering in Moldova. In a public call, the NGOs express their concern about the way in which the theft of the US$1 billion, as a result of which the people were dispossessed of public property to the value of 13% of the GDP, is investigated, IPN reports.

Civil society says that following this theft, the national currency depreciated, three banks were intentionally made bankrupt and the integrity of the financial-baking flows supervised by the National Bank of Moldova was attacked by obscure groups, the national banking, economic and financial security being thus endangered.

The civil society organizations note that the state officials who closed the eyes to the cases of theft and money laundering weren’t suspended from posts so as to ensure an objective investigation and weren’t held accountable and were even promoted, awarded or appreciated for high professionalism. The international audit contract with Kroll was signed in a situation of conflict of interests on the part of the National Bank’s administration that bore direct responsibility for preventing such situations.

The NGOs say the investigation period covered by the Kroll audit was limited, deliberately leaving outside the audit the period when the scheme of the frauds was planned and launched. A number of persons involved in the bank frauds were threatened, went missing or died in suspicions conditions. Also, Parliament didn’t adopt in the final reading a number of bills designed to ensure security in the banking system and to exclude the conditions that perpetuated the frauds. Moreover, now the state borrows money from the three banks that are under special supervision, which do not ensure share ownership transparency.

Among the signatories of the call are the Association for Participatory Democracy, the Women’s Association for Environment Protection and Sustainable Development, the Small Business Association, the Foreign Policy Association, the Association of Independent Press, the Resource Center DIALOG-Pro, the Legal Resources Center, the Congress of Local Authorities, the National Employers Confederation, the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul”, Transparency International – Moldova, and others.