Moldova discloses details of $22 billion money laundering case
Criminal cases were brought against a number of judges, bailiffs and employees of the National Bank of Moldova. Through a statement posted on their official website, the Prosecutor General's Office of Moldova described the details of an ongoing investigation about the laundering and removal of $22 billion from Russia.
According to the statement, charges were brought against 16 judges, four bailiffs, four employees of the National Bank of Moldova including the deputy head, as well as nine employees of a commercial bank through which money laundering operations were conducted.
The Prosecutor General's Office report named it the “Laundromat” case.
On March 20, The Guardian exposed an international money laundering scheme in Russia under the name "The Global Laundromat.” According to the edition, around $20 billion was diverted out of Russia in 2010 to 2014 although the actual amount may reach as high as $80 billion. An important element of this portfolio is the Bank of Moldova.
In February, information about a money laundering scheme in Russia began to emerge, the key element being the Federal Bailiff Service. The Guardian revealed that the new method of fraud is a modification of an already-known Moldovan money laundering scheme aided by judicial decisions.
In the middle of 2016, a former employee of the anti-corruption department of Moldova spoke about money laundering more than $23 billion of Russian origin through the country’s commercial banks.
The German edition Süddeutsche Zeitung also reported that dozens of German banks have laundered money from Eastern Europe and Russia.