Some consider the investigation carried out by the U.S. company Kroll played a key role in solving the enigma of the stealing of millions of lei from the Moldovan banking system, while others think such an investigation wasn’t necessary. Such opinions were stated in the talk show “Reply” on Prime TV channel, IPN reports.
Constitutional law expert Vitalie Catana believes the Kroll report and the debates held in Parliament played an essential role in elucidating the facts. “I found out that the stolen sum was two times lower than it was rumored. I found out the scheme and methods by which the money was stolen and that the investigation goes on. The head of the National Anticorruption Center said the money is in the country and can be recovered and this is important. I consider that Parliament sitting stimulated the inquiries,” he stated.
On the other hand, Dorin Vaculovschi, dean of the General Economy and Law Faculty of the Academy of Economic Studies, considers the debates on the Kroll report held in Parliament have been planned beforehand. “I do not understand why to pay several million lei to a foreign audit company when the things described in the report were known. Banca de Economii started to have problems in 2013 and reported losses of millions. The publication of the Kroll report, the debates in Parliament and the arrest of Ilan Shor and several other persons from the administration of the three banks were done with the aim of calming things down,” he said.
Journalist Ion Terguta said both the Kroll report and the debates in Parliament raised a number of questions. “The governor of the National Bank lied nonchalantly when he said in Parliament that less than US$500 million was actually stolen. We should not forget that the money was stolen in Moldovan lei when the exchange rate was much lower than now. So, it is evident that the sum in foreign currency is much higher. A number of questions appear: Why did the governor lie? Why did the central bank need to save two private banks? What would have happened to the economy and the national currency if the National Bank hadn’t provided loans to Banca de Economii?” he stated.
The parliamentary debates centering on the Kroll report took place on May 7. The National Bank determined that 13.3 billion lei was stolen and the Kroll report makes reference to the same sum. National Anticorruption Center director Viorel Chetraru considers most of the money stolen from Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank is in the country.
