National Bank of Moldova gets final report on bank fraud investigation

Chisinau, 7 March /MOLDPRES/- The National Bank of Moldova (BNM) announces that on 6 March 2018 it got the final report on the bank fraud investigation from Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson companies. The document includes information about the fraud that led to the insolvency of the Savings Bank, Social Bank and Unibank, which were defrauded by about 14 billion lei.

According to the central bank’s press service, the report together with the operative data on the follow-up of fraudulent funds will be forwarded next week to the Moldovan investigation bodies by the Kroll representatives, according to the procedures agreed with the international consortium.

A summary of the investigation report, which reveals how the money was stolen, as well as the countries through which had circulated or arrived, was published on 21 December 2017 on the BNM website. The summary states that between 2012 and 2014, the three banks of Moldova granted loans to the Shor Group companies amounting to 2.9 billion dollars. At least 77 companies have formed this coordinated group. These funds were transferred predominantly to bank accounts opened in two banks in Latvia before being flushed through a network of about 100 corporate bank accounts in Latvia.

Under the summary, the vast majority of accounts were opened on behalf of companies registered in the UK or in offshore locations such as - Belize, BVI and Panama. The investigation shows that about 185 million dollars have been submitted to other banks in Moldova, 63 million dollars in Cyprus, 61 million in China and Hong Kong and 23 million dollars in Switzerland. About 200 million dollars were transferred to the accounts of several banks in Latvia, which were subject to a complex money-laundering mechanism.

Representatives of the Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson companies confirmed their willingness to further cooperate with Moldovan investigation bodies to support recovery of fraudulent goods internationally, as well as to strengthen the evidence base in internal procedures.

Robbing the three banks was described in local and international media as “the theft of the century” or “the theft of the billion”. Currently, the consortium of Kroll and Steptoe & Johnson LLP is conducting the second stage of the investigation into the Savings Bank, Social Bank and Unibank. The companies have been committed to “carry out a more detailed investigation, as well as to prepare and implement a recovery strategy” of missing assets in the three banks.

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor A. Răileanu)