The indictment against the former PDM lawmaker Vladimir Andronachi and one unnamed accomplice has been submitted to the court. This is an offshoot of the set of cases collectively known as the “bank fraud”.

Vladimir Andronachi is accused of fraud and money laundering in particularly large amounts, through complex participation as an organizer, instigator and executer in the interest of a criminal organization. The accomplice is accused of committing the crime of money laundering in particularly large amounts, in the interests of a smaller criminal group that is part of the criminal organization.

The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has estimated the damage at over 26 million lei. More than one million dollars and approximately 800,000 euros are believed to have been laundered, which ended up in the accounts of companies affiliated with the criminal organization led by Vlad Plahotniuc, as well as companies of the criminal group led by Vladimir Andronachi.

The damage caused was recovered through seizures imposed by the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office together with the Agency for the Recovery of Criminal Assets.

Vladimir Andronachi was arrested on November 2, 2022. His preventive detention has been extended until April 1, 2023. The whereabouts of the accomplice are currently unknown and he has been prosecuted in absentia.

The charges carry a punishment of prison time ranging from 8 to 15 years, plus a ban on public posts for up to 5 years.