Moldovan politician Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is now on the run for his role in a fraud coined the “Theft of the Century” in Moldova, has used a trust based in New Zealand to transfer tens upon tens of millions of dollars to his family, 1 NEWS and other New Zealand sources reported, being quoted by IPN.
The information has come to light in the Pandora Papers in which millions of documents from companies offering financial services in tax havens were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Documents in the Pandora Papers show Plahotniuc created the Otiv Trust in 2011 with Asiaciti's New Zealand office based in Auckland, while others show his wife Oxana Childescu repeatedly requesting tens of millions of dollars be sent to her in Switzerland over multiple years.
In 2011, a due diligence report carried out for the financial sector warned that there were many serious allegations against Plahotniuc including “corruption, manipulation of the judiciary system, of money laundering, participation in arms trafficking and attacks on the Moldovan financial sector”.
In 2020, the US State Department officially designated Plahotniuc “due to his involvement in significant corruption” meaning he and his family are ineligible to enter the United States.
Asiaciti New Zealand did not respond to a request for an interview with 1 News about why they have been running the Otiv Trust for Plahotniuc. Asiaciti's head office issued a lengthy written statement to 1 News which did not address Plahotnuic. “We take this opportunity to inform you that any allegations about us you may make are premised on inaccuracies and incomplete information,” said the statement.
