The Swiss authorities have seized a luxurious villa located in Geneva and owned by Oxana Childescu, the wife of the Moldovan fugitive oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, reported Le Temps.
Switzerland offers legal assistance to Moldova in investigating a series of crimes, the article mentions. Documents show how a Zurich-based wealth management firm assessed the risk posed by the fugitive oligarch’s wife.
“Mrs. C. lives in a beautiful villa in Vésenaz, a wealthy village on the outskirts of Geneva. Bought in late 2012 for 31.5 million francs by the company Mareches SA, which corresponds to the name of the street where it is located, this 449 square meter residence nicknamed Le Léman lays on a plot of over 5,000 m2, with a swimming pool on the edge of the lake. It is now in sequestration, because the Moldovan authorities suspect it was obtained with funds of dubious origin. More precisely, those of the oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is the subject of criminal proceedings in Chișinau for money laundering, and is also placed under sanctions by the United States and Switzerland”, reads the article.
A year ago, TV8 reported that, although Switzerland imposed sanctions against Vladimir Plahotniuc for his involvement in actions to destabilize the situation in Moldova, and several assets and property were seized, the villa written in his wife’s name was spared. One reason could be that Oxana Childescu was not on the list of people sanctioned by Western states.
