The process of the banking system looting was a well-prepared operation in time, coordinated with politicians and state dignitaries. It is one of the conclusions of the report for the elucidation of all circumstances of the banking system looting and investigation of the banking fraud, presented on October 17 at the plenary of the Parliament, by the MP Alexandru Slusari, IPN reports.
Alexandru Slusari, who headed the Bank Fraud Investigation Committee, has said that the amount looted from the banking system that appears in the Kroll report is between 900 million and 1 billion dollars. "But, taking into account the information provided by the National Bank of Moldova and the Prosecutor's Office, there are suspicions that the amount of damage could be much larger," said the MP.
In his speech from the Parliament's rostrum, Alexandru Slusari has stated that the main final beneficiaries of the bank robbery were "Plahotniuc, Șor and Filat groups". "Between 2011-2012, there was a plan regarding the attack against the Savings Bank (BEM) directed by the Plahotniuc - Platon group in order to ensure the control package of the BEM. Judges, the National Commission for Financial Markets and the National Bank were involved in carrying out these plans,” said Alexandru Slusari. "Some NBM representatives are still in the position of deputy governors, such as Ion Sturzu and Aurel Cincilei," stressed Alexandru Slusari.
The report also presents the consequences of bank fraud on the economy and economic agents. Between November 1, 2014 - February 18, 2015, the national currency depreciated by 42.2%, thus triggering a currency crisis. "As a result, thousands of economic agents had huge losses due to the exchange rate difference when paying foreign currency loans, while the annual inflation in 2015 constituted 10.2%, double as compared to 2014," said Alexandru Slusari. The MP mentioned that the economy of the Republic of Moldova had been hit hard in terms of accessing finance by the business environment. The report shows that bank fraud led to the degradation of democratic standards and aggravated corruption in the Republic of Moldova.
According to the Committee Chairman, between 2015-2019, the General Prosecutor's Office sabotaged the investigation of the banking system looting. "In many cases the investigation was deliberately delayed or used selectively for political purposes," said Alexandru Slusari.
The inquiry committee recommends the Speaker of the Parliament to establish the circumstances that would allow the deputy governors of NBM Ion Sturzu and Aurel Cincilei to be dismissed. It also recommends that the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office criminally investigate the former and current state officials Iurie Leancă, Dorin Drăguțanu, Andrian Candu, Anatol Arapu, Emma Tăbârță. "These persons allowed granting of state guarantees to the three banks without the immediate introduction of special state administration, which had serious repercussions for the banking system, huge amounts of money being looted between November 7-27, 2014," said Alexandru Slusari.
The Committee also recommends that the Prosecutor General's Office investigate the reasons for the stagnation of the investigation initiated by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office on the banking system looting and cooperate with the special services of other countries, in particular with the FBI, in order to recover the stolen funds. Another recommendation to carry out an audit on the legality of the allocation of financial resources granted as emergency loans is addressed to the Ministry of Finance. "Bank Fraud Investigation Committee recommends the set-up of a parliamentary inquiry commission on the process of laundering tens of billions of dollars through the banking system of the Republic of Moldova and the creation of a commission of inquiry into the liquidation process of Banca de Economii, Unibank and Banca Sociala,” said Alexandru Slusari.
The presentation of the report at Parliament's plenary took place in the absence of the Democratic Party members, who left the meeting room.
