Moldovan businessman sentenced to 18 years in prison

Chisinau, 20 April /MOLDPRES/ – Businessman Veaceslav Platon was sentenced to 18 years in prison for scam and money laundering in particularly large proportions today, according to the Chisinau Court's ruling, Buiucani sector.  

According to the decision, Platon was deprived of the right to occupy positions in the banking system for five years. Also, the judges were willing to charge over 869 million lei from the accused in favour of the state.

Veaceslav Platon is to serve his sentence in a closed penitentiary. Lawyers have the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals within 15 days.

Prosecutors initially asked the court Platon to be sentenced to 23 years in prison. At the same time, lawyers demanded an acquittal, mentioning that their client pleaded innocent.

Businessman Veaceslav Platon was arrested by Ukrainian authorities at the request of Moldovan prosecutors. He is criminally investigated for scam and money laundering in particularly large proportions, leading to the loss of Banca de Economii by more than 800 million lei. Prosecutors came to the conclusion that the money, obtained through credit fraud, was transferred to the accounts of several offshore companies to disguise their illegal source, and later they were used to quit lending to Moldovan banks.

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor M. Jantovan)