Arrest warrant of former Moldovan PM extended by 30 days

Chisinau, 18 May /MOLDPRES/- The arrest warrant of former Prime Minister Vlad Filat today was extended by 30 days. The decision was taken by Buiucani district court, after the prosecutors of the National Anti-Corruption Centre had submitted a petition demanding the extension of the arrest warrant.

The prosecutor for the case, Adriana Betisor, said that the preventive arrest warrant would have been extended on the basis of reasonable grounds. “I have brought sufficient evidence, representing Filat’s behaviour towards his former colleagues, who made statements in the court, even his behaviour behind the bars, the letters sent clandestinely to witnesses through lawyers, as well as other evidence I cannot make public”, Betisor said.

The lawyer of the former PM, Igor Popa, said that the preventive arrest warrant would have been extended without presenting new evidence. “We consider the today’s conclusion as abusive and illegal. This petition was submitted by almost two weeks before expiration of the remand term, we do not understand where it comes rushing from. We will appeal the court’s decision to the Court of Appeal”, Popa said.

The next session on the file of the former Moldovan prime minister Vlad Filat will be held next week. Four out of the 14 witnesses are to be subpoenaed.

The former prime minister, Vlad Filat, was detained on 15 October 2015, under a self-denunciation by Ilan Shor, who said that he would have given the former PM a bribe worth 250 million dollars, with charges turned down by Filat. Vlad Filat has been under preventive arrest for over six months. He is accused of influence peddling and passive corruption in the file of Banca de Economii (Savings Bank) fraud.  

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor L. Alcază)