Victims of 'raider attacks' on banks fail to provide testimonies

19.01.2012 13:45
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The Anti-corruption Prosecution Office has announced that the investigation into the alleged corporate raider attacks against several Moldovan banks last summer is held in abeyance because of the victims' failure to provide testimonies. The prosecutors further complain that they have met difficulty in identifying both the owners of the shares which were allegedly subjected to hostile takeovers and the culprits, Info-Prim Neo reports. Anti-corruption Deputy Chief Viorel Morari told a news conference that in the case of Moldova Agroindbank not a single person has complained to the prosecutors of being victims of hostile takeovers. “Prime Minister Vlad Filat hasn't provided testimony either, despite the fact that I have more than once expressed my readiness to interview him wherever and whenever he sees fit”, said Viorel Morari. Anti-corruption prosecutor Viorel Radetchi informed that the team in charge of the cases will travel to the Netherlands and Slovenia, where the investors whose shares had been stolen reportedly reside. “The problem is, however, that Moldova doesn't have any bilateral agreements on assistance in criminal matters with these countries, and this makes our work more difficult.” In another development, Radechi noted that Moldova's legislation doesn't contain the notion of a 'raider attack' and it would be good if the lawmakers defined such acts. “Last year this notion was used in excess, and incorrectly too. We have come to see the situation when one in five complaints to the Prosecution Office is for 'raider attacks'. Today any rural household that incurs losses, because of the drought or whatever, is likely to complain of being the victims of a 'raider attack'”, said Viorel Radetchi. Last summer Prime Minister Vlad Filat announced that four Moldovan banks – Moldova Agroindbank, Banca de Economii, Victoriabank and Universalbank – had suffered corporate raider attacks.