Moldovan politician and businessman Vyacheslav Platon convicted in Russia in absentia for 20 years in a strict regime colony for the illegal withdrawal of more than 126 billion rubles. Investigation of a series of criminal cases against defendants “Moldovan scheme” handled by the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The judge of the Tverskoy District Court, Olga Zatomskaya, has been considering the Platon case in absentia since December 2021. She found the Moldovan businessman guilty of committing crimes under Part 1 of Art. 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of a criminal community) and paragraphs. “a”, “b” part 3 of article 193.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (currency transactions for the transfer of funds in foreign currency to the accounts of non-residents using false documents). In addition, according to the verdict, Platon was fined 2.5 million rubles. and restriction of freedom after serving a sentence of 1.5 years.
The investigation and the court found that since June 2013 in Moscow and Chisinau, the owner of JSC CB “Moldindconbank” Platon created a criminal community together with Vladimir Plahotniucwho at one time was a member of the Moldovan Parliament and headed the Democratic Party, and a banker Alexander Korkin. From June 2013 to May 2014, the participants of the organized criminal activity, on false grounds, made transactions for 126 billion rubles. on the transfer of funds in foreign currency from the correspondent accounts of a number of Russian credit institutions, the heads of which were members of the community, to the accounts of Platon’s bank. During the process, a representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation stated that the guilt of the Moldovan businessman was fully proven.
Zatomskaya also turned Plato’s property in Russia into state income.
His lawyer Marina Granovskaya told Vedomosti that she would definitely appeal the verdict. The defender declined to comment further.
As part of this case, in March 2021, Plato’s sister was convicted – Elena Platon – 10 years in a general regime colony.
The second organizer of the scheme, Plahotniuc, was arrested in Russia in absentia three times on various criminal cases, including the illegal withdrawal of funds abroad, the creation of a drug syndicate and preparations for the assassination of Moldovan politician Renato Usatii. For example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation reported that in the period from 2012 to 2019, more than 60 members of the drug syndicate were identified and prosecuted as part of the special operation “Pyrenean Break”, and more than 1 ton of hashish was seized from illicit trafficking.
Plahotniuc is considered one of the richest people in Moldova. On July 18, 2023, in Plahotniuc’s homeland, a case was brought to court on the illegal use of $39.2 million and 3.5 million euros. The Moldovan prosecutor’s office concluded that this money was received through fake loans that were provided by Banca de Economii, Unibank and Banca Sociala to companies controlled by his partner Ilan Shor. In Moldova, Plahotniuc faces up to 15 years in prison.
The Russian court has already convicted about a dozen defendants in the “Moldovan scheme”, they are serving long sentences. One of the last high-profile sentences from the “Moldovan” series of criminal cases was handed down to the ex-owner of Baltika Bank Oleg Vlasov. The Tverskoy court sentenced him to 17 years in a strict regime colony. Vlasov was found guilty of laundering through the “Russian Laundromat” (from the English word laundry; laundry) about 46 billion rubles.
In July 2020, another Moldovan politician was arrested by the Tver Court in one of the Laundromat cases — Renato Usatii. He was charged in absentia with the illegal withdrawal of more than 500 billion rubles from the Russian Federation. He, like Plato, is hiding and put on the international wanted list.
Kommersant.Ru, 07/27/2023, “The organizer of the Laundromat found out about the verdict in London”: At the moment, together with Vyacheslav Platon, Vladimir Plahotniuc and the former co-owner of the Russian Land Bank Beslan Bulguchev are on the international wanted list in this case.
Vyacheslav Platon himself in 2017 was sentenced in Moldova to 18 years old for stealing $20 million from the local Banca de Economii. However, three years later, the court of appeal overturned the verdict and sent the case back for a new trial. However, the matter never came to him. Already in May of the same year, the prosecutor’s office considered that the case against Vyacheslav Platon was fabricated, and he was released. In the summer of 2021, the organizer of the Laundromat moved to London, where he now lives. — Inset K.ru
