CHISINAU (TASS): Moldovan President Maia Sandu asked the leadership of the EU countries to help return to the republic the money that was withdrawn by corrupt politicians.
“I ask for your help in fighting corruption, punishing politicians who in the past robbed the state, seized state institutions, stole people’s money, fled abroad and invested this money in countries with strong democracies. EU states must do more to refuse this money that were obtained at the expense of our fragile democracy, their return to our country,” Sandu said, speaking at the plenary session of the European Parliament on Wednesday.
She also said that the country’s leadership is fighting corruption and a large-scale reform in the field of justice.
“We have already managed to eliminate a number of corruption schemes, start reforming the justice system, build independent state institutions. But there is still a lot to be done, so we are counting on the help of European partners,” Sandu said.
The corruption scandal associated with the withdrawal of €1 billion from the banking system of Moldova, which is called the theft of the century in the country, flared up in 2015. He provoked protests, the fall of two governments and the ruling coalition of pro-European parties, the Alliance for European Integration, which enjoyed the support of the US and the EU, and former Prime Minister Vladimir Filat ended up in prison.
The report of the detective agency Kroll, which, at the request of the government of the republic, conducted an investigation into the embezzlement, states that the money was withdrawn through Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank, controlled by banker Ilan Shor, who was convicted in this case in 2017.
Shor appealed the verdict and was under judicial control until the final decision, which did not prevent him from leading the party and being elected as a member of parliament.
However, after another change of power in June 2019, Shor fled the country along with the leader of the Democratic Party, which was part of the ruling alliance, oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who was later named by the General Prosecutor’s Office of Moldova as one of the main organizers of the theft of the century and accused of seizing power in the country.
The US authorities, where the Moldovan oligarch took refuge, refused to extradite him.
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