The founders of Caritate.md deny the accusations of swindle made against it in a RISE Moldova investigation, saying this was conducted by order of opponents. In a news conference on February 20, these said the accusations made by the two mothers who appeared in the investigation should be made against the Turkish hospital that performed the surgeries, IPN reports.
Alexandru Rusnac, founder of the Charity Foundation “Sfantul Gheorghe”, which runs the platform Caritate.md, and the platform’s administrator Svetlana Sainsus said one of the mothers who asserted that she was cheated tried and persuaded the second mother that appears in the investigation to make statements against Svetlana Sainsus and the Turkish medical center “Medical Park”. The two children received the necessary medical assistance even if the mothers complained that their daughters weren’t operated.
Commenting on the statement made earlier, as if she was told to pay €20,000 for not being mentioned in the investigation, Svetlana Sainsus said she didn’t speak personally to someone from RISE. She was phoned by an acquaintance of her and told that the journalists would not publish the investigation if she paid the given sum. She didn’t denounce this fact as she realized she will be unable to prove the blackmail. Svetlana Sainsus apologized publicly to RISE Moldova journalist Liuba Shevchuk for the insulting language used in a posting.
Sainsus admitted that she collects a salary of €500 that comes from donations raised through the website. “Caritate.md charges a commission of 5% of the collected sums. This is not our percentage. There are a number of mechanisms, such as bank transfers and paypal, the commission on which varies. We set an average so that the commission is common,” stated Alexandru Rusnac.
Asked about the criminal case started in this case, those from Caritate.md said they learned about it from the press and are ready to provide pertinent information to the competent bodies.
Svetlana Sainsus also said that she will sue the editorial staff of RISE and Liuba Shevchuk for slander, announcing her decision to leave Caritate.md. For his part, Alexandru Rusnac noted that the platform is still active.
RISE Moldova on February 19 published an investigation saying the charity platform identified seriously ill children, made their story public and collected large amounts in donations. Later, the beneficiaries were referred to a hospital in Turkey, where doctors simulated surgery.
