National Bank of Moldova says Kroll company plans to finish second report till late next October

Chisinau, 1 August /MOLDPRES/ - The National Bank of Moldova (BNM) has informed that representatives of the Kroll firm, who have recently paid a visit to Chisinau, said that they planned to finish the second report will late October 2017. BNM is set to publish a summary of the document till the end of this year, taking into account the aspects of confidentiality, according to a press release by the Central Bank.   

Representatives of the Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson firms had a trip to Chisinau on 20 July, where they had meetings with representatives of the National Bank, Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, National Anticorruption Centre and Agency for Crime Assets Recovery. The participants in these meetings agreed on a global strategy of recovery of embezzled assets, which are to ensure, in the long run, a close cooperation and exchange of information, in order to allow maximal efficiency of the recovery measures and collect evidence to back criminal files which can be opened on the international stage.      

The strategy is focused on the initiation, till late 2017, of judicial procedures in the principal jurisdictions, in which the embezzled funds were followed and malefactors (and other persons involved), as well as their business were localized,  BNM said. Besides, procedures against third persons will be initiated, in order to allow disclosure of additional documents, needed to follow the rest of the funds embezzled.   

In late last June, BNM said that the validation of the strategy of recovery of the embezzled funds from the three problem banks was planned in July 2017. The Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson companies in April 2017 presented a draft strategy, in order to initiate actions in justice in more jurisdictions, to further get information and recover the assets embezzled.   

The Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson companies carry out the second stage of the investigation concerning the large scale fraud in the banking sector, which led, till late 2014, to the collapse of three banks – Banca de Economii (Savings Bank), Banca Sociala (Social Bank) and Unibank.   

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor A. Raileanu)