With highs and lows, 2017 is nearing its end. It is a good time for conclusions. On this occasion, IPN has gathered good thought from all over the globe, this time only good thoughts, from decision-makers and from those on the receiving end of these decisions. What good has come of 2017? This is the question we posed to the people who have accepted to join us in our pursuit of the good in our surroundings and in the events that affect us. Although many things do not follow our wishes, winners are the people and societies that learn to see challenges and lesser things as extra opportunities to get involved and make things better. For each of the topics we approach, we provide rankings that reflect the opinions of those who developed them. Read further for the good things 2017 has brought in the bank fraud probe.
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Top-5 from Transparency International Moldova:
“In this area we can only hope that the 2017 failures will create opportunities and expectations in 2018”.
1. “Hopefully in 2018 pressure will continue to be exerted on the Moldovan authorities to investigate the bank fraud and the money laundering that have given Moldova the notorious reputation of being an international laundromat”.
2. “Hopefully the Kroll 2 Report will reveal who the end beneficiaries of the bank fraud are and hopefully the perpetrators will be punished”.
3. “Hopefully the officials who made the fraud possible are punished as well”.
4. “We hope the new Agency created to recover criminal proceeds will start the process of recovering the money siphoned off from the banking system, and that civil society will be able to monitor this”.
5. “Apart from the attempt to legalize funds of fraudulent origin through a bill ‘on capital liberalization and fiscal amnesty’, this year there were at least three other attempts of this kind: the potential purchase of government bonds by suspicious foreign investors, the initiative to offer citizenship for money, and the recent initiative to ‘decriminalize’ capital. We can only hope that this will never happen.”
Top-5 from the Investigative Journalism Center:
1. In 2017 there was more coverage, and related issues have been constantly under the media radar.
“We’ve ensured people don’t forget that they are paying for those who stole the money. This could in the near future encourage people to vote out those who made the theft possible and those who’ve been unwilling to reveal the perpetrators”.
2. Legal proceedings were started to investigate the non-performing loans taken out from the banks in question and it has been found that more was actually stolen: not one, but eight billion dollars.
“Even despite the sluggish investigation efforts, the accumulated evidence could influence the outcome of the 2018 election when people will have the chance to vote in politicians who are able to ensure the rule of law and guarantee independent and professional law-enforcement”.
3. The second Kroll report is announced.
“The second Kroll report will provide new details about the bank fraud and this will put pressure on the law-enforcement to investigate in order to find the true beneficiaries”.
4. One of the main suspects, Ilan Shor was sentenced, even if he is still at large enjoying suspicious protection from the law-enforcement.
5. Good investigative articles were published on the subject.
“In the past it was very hard to get any information from the banking system, the law-enforcement and the judiciary. It wasn’t any easier in 2017 either, but some journalists managed to publish a few interesting investigations”.
Top-5 from the National Bank of Moldova:
1. The completion of the second report on the bank fraud probe by the companies Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson and the publishing of a summary of it, and the development of a strategy to recover the stolen money.
“During a mission scheduled for early 2018, Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson will hand over to the Moldovan law-enforcement a set of operative data tracing the fraudulent funds, including a list of the apparent beneficiaries”.
2. The adoption of a Law on Banks, which will take effect on 1 January 2018.
“It introduced stricter banking regulation and surveillance provisions in line with the latest international principals (collectively known as BASEL III). The National Bank’s powers and surveillance instruments have been extended to prevent and minimize deficiencies and bank fraud risks”.
3. The implementation of the BASEL III standards through regulation that improves corporate governance, management requirements, surveillance functions, and risk-based capital requirements.
4. The adoption of rules improving monitoring of, and limiting bank transactions with affiliated persons.
“The new presumption rules will help to discover undeclared exposure. The National Bank will be able to reduce the excessive exposure of banks”.
5. Improved bank ownership rules.
“This will enhance the transparency of bank shareholders and will facilitate monitoring of changes in the shareholder structure. This means only persons meeting bank shareholder requirements will be allowed into the financial and banking market”.
IPN also asked the Ministry of Finance to contribute, but it declined, suggesting we should rather ask “the institutions in charge of this sector”.
