The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has forwarded to court the case involving Moldovan politician Renato Usatîi, leader of the Our Party political party. He is accused of the illegal transfer of over 175 billion rubles, IPN reports, citing a press release from the Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow.
The Russian authorities allege that Renato Usatii is charged with “engaging in foreign exchange transactions involving the transfer of funds in foreign currency to non-resident accounts, using knowingly falsified documents on an exceptionally large scale as part of a criminal organization”.
According to the investigation, by june 2013, in Moscow and Chișinău, then-owner of Moldindconbank, Veaceslav Platon, along with businessmen Vladimir Plahotniuc and Alexander Corkin, established a criminal organization to illegally transfer foreign currency funds out of the Russian Federation. Renato Usatii, who became leader of the Our Party in april 2014, is alleged to have been involved in this scheme.
The Prosecutor General's Office claims that between june 2013 and may 2014, Renato Usatii led the criminal organization and, under its aegis, conducted illegal foreign exchange transactions. These transactions allegedly involved transferring funds from bank accounts used in the scheme to non-resident accounts, using knowingly falsified documents, amounting to more than 175 billion rubles—a sum deemed exceptionally large.
The Russian authorities further stated that measures have been taken to locate and extradite Renato Usatii. However, he is reportedly in hiding outside Russia, and his extradition has been denied. Consequently, there is no realistic possibility of his participation in the criminal proceedings, and all investigative measures have been conducted in his absence.
Previously, Renato Usatii has publicly claimed that the case brought against him in Russia is fabricated.
