The former vice president of the commercial bank “Victoriabank”, Corneliu Ghimpu, has been brought to trial in the “Bank Fraud” case, being accused of complicity in fraud committed by a criminal organization and money laundering. Prosecutors argue that he would have contributed to creating the conditions for the embezzlement of over 2.2 billion lei from the Banca de Economii, reports IPN.
According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, in 2014, Corneliu Ghimpu held the position of First Vice-President of the “Victoriabank” Steering Committee and was a member of the Asset and Liability Management Committee. The accusation alleges that he acted in conjunction with the bank’s president, in the interests of the criminal organization that prosecutors claim was led by Vladimir Plahotniuc.
PA mentions that the two would have known about the precarious financial situation of the Banca de Economii, Unibank and the Banca Sociala, and would have contributed, through the use of their positions, to the realization of the scheme. According to the accusation, the financial resources placed in the three banks were to be embezzled through the formal granting of loans to affiliated and controlled entities of the criminal group led by Ilan Shor.
The PA states that as a result of these actions, it was possible to form a debt of the Banca de Economii to Victoriabank amounting to over 2.2 billion lei. To ensure the recovery of the damage and a possible special confiscation, prosecutors have seized the assets held by the accused, worth over 32.7 million lei.
According to PA, the criminal case was forwarded to the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters.
