The verdict in Vlad Plahotniuc’s case will be pronounced on April 22. Today’s session lasted approximately six hours, during which he provided explanations for all the charges. In front of the magistrates, the defendant denied the accusations and argued that the “Bank Fraud” case would contain forgeries and manipulations by the prosecutors. This time, the former PDM leader also made statements to the press, reports IPN.
“Prosecutors are trying to compensate for the total lack of evidence with aberrant figures of 25 years. I will demonstrate certain episodes that have not been presented. I came prepared. When I asked for time to prepare, I did not intend to delay the process, but I prepared,” Vlad Plahotniuc declared to the press.
When asked by journalists what decision he expects from the court, he replied: “What decision should an innocent man expect?”
His lawyer, Lucian Rogac, stated that the defendant has dismantled all the charges. “He dismantled all the accusations that the prosecutors inferred in the case. He proved that he is not guilty. As for the enthusiasm with which the court wanted to conclude the debates and the last word is regrettable,” the defender mentioned.
On the other hand, prosecutor Alexandru Cernei stated that the defendant generally maintained his position, but also presented a new element. According to him, if initially Plahotniuc denied being the actual beneficiary of the companies involved in the case and that he would have received funds from the three banks, later he changed his statements.
“Today, the version put forward by the defendant has changed. He acknowledged that those companies belonged to him, as the actual beneficiary, and that he received the respective amounts, but he claimed that the reason for the transactions was an agreement between him, Veaceslav Platon and Ilan Șor regarding the repayment of a debt or a transaction of buying-selling a share package from the Banca de Economii. This version has no evidentiary support,” the prosecutor mentioned.
In the “Bank Fraud” case, prosecutors have requested a 25-year prison sentence for Vlad Plahotniuc.
