The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has announced the completion of the criminal investigation and submission to the court for examination of two criminal cases accusing six people for money laundering in particularly large proportions and fraud in large proportions. Actions resulting in causing material damage estimated at 11 million lei.

The criminal prosecution in both cases was dismissed in September 2023, due to the criminal case started in March 2013, by the General Prosecutor’s Office based on the self-referral. Thus, the National Anticorruption Center carried out the criminal prosecution of the given cases under the procedural leadership of the AP.

Following the criminal investigation, it was established that, an administrator and founder of a company, acting in complicity with a group of people, fraudulently obtaining from Banca de Economii a loan in the amount of 42,500,000 lei, which , both during its administration, but also at the expiration of the reimbursement term, was not returned, thus causing the financial institution a particularly large amount of damage.

Subsequently, the persons referred to above, acting in complicity and with the aim of stealing another person’s property by misrepresentation, acquired during December 2011, from Banca de Economii, funds in the amount of 4,400,000 lei, which were transferred to the address of several companies to conceal and disguise its illicit origin.

Only one of the six accused admitted his guilt, and the criminal cases were sent for examination to the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters.

If they are found guilty of committing these crimes, they risk imprisonment of up to 12 years with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or to exercise a certain activity for a period of up to 5 years (in the case of art. 190 para. (5) of the Criminal Code), a fine from 92,500 to 167,500 lei or imprisonment from 2 to 6 years (in the case of art. 238 of the Criminal Code) and imprisonment from 5 to 10 years, with a fine, applied to the legal entity, in the amount of 650,000 to 800,000 lei or with the liquidation of the legal entity (in the case of art. 243 paragraph (3) letter b) of the Criminal Code).

At the same time, to guarantee the execution of the fine, the recovery of the damages and the possible special confiscation, the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA) under the NAC applied seizure on the assets up to the amount of 1,144,000 lei, owned by one of the accused.

Note: A person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court decision.