Turnaround in case of three Moldovan banks

Chisinau, 8 May /MOLDPRES/ - The sum of one billion dollars, which has been scandalizing the society for several months, is a myth. In reality, the amount lacking from those three banks – Banca de Economii a Moldovei (BEM, State Saving Bank), Banca Sociala (Social Bank), Unibank – is of 450 million dollars. Governor of the National Bank of Moldova Dorin Dragutanu made statements to this effect at a parliament meeting on 7 May.

Moreover, Dorin Dragutanu added that this money had been purloined from BEM back in 2007. “Since 2007, BEM has not been reporting profits, on the contrary – it recorded losses of thousands of million lei! How did they accumulate? From commissions for bad loans. The bad loans were provided both till 2009, and in 2009-2013, and till the shares’ structure was changed,” Dragutanu said. According to him, the scheme of money purloining was a simple one and apparently legal: the bank was providing credits, which becoming bad, were covered with money from other credits taken also there or from another bank.

“When were these loans provided? BEM permanently offered them,” Dragutanu said.

As for November 2014 operations, Dragutanu said “at that time, the three banks did not have the 13 billion lei at all. One cannot withdraw what does not exist in a week or two”.

(Editor A. Raileanu)