The Russian Interior Ministry charged in absentia Moldovan politician Renato Usatii in the case of the illegal withdrawal of 500 billion rubles ($6.7 billion) from Russia together with oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, the ministry's spokeswoman Irina Volk told reporters on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2020) The Russian Interior Ministry charged in absentia Moldovan politician Renato Usatii in the case of the illegal withdrawal of 500 billion rubles ($6.7 billion) from Russia together with oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, the ministry's spokeswoman Irina Volk told reporters on Friday.
"Today, investigators of the Russian Interior Ministry's Investigative Department charged in absentia Renato Usatii, a native of the Moldavian SSR, of committing crimes under the Russian Criminal Code's article 210 part 2, article 193.1 part 3 paragraphs 'a', 'b'," she said.
The investigation considers Usatii a member of the international criminal community, which illegally withdrew more than 500 billion rubles from Russia through Moldova's Moldindconbank in 2013-2014.
According to investigators, the organizers of the criminal scheme were Vladimir Plahotniuc and Vyacheslav Platon. Both have Russian and Moldovan passports and are on the international wanted list.
On the pretext of selling foreign currency, the group's members transferred money from accounts of controlled firms in Russian banks to Moldindconbank accounts opened in various banks, including in the Bank of New York.
Then, the money in Russian rubles received from these transactions were debited from the accounts of Russian banks too Moldindconbank according to forged decisions of the Moldovan courts in favor of foreign legal entities. Subsequently, they were sent to foreign banks to the accounts of clients of the criminal group, mainly in Europe.
"Renato Usatii did not appear at the appointed time to hear charges against him. A copy of the decision to indict him was handed over to his lawyer in the prescribed manner. The investigation into the criminal case is ongoing," Volk said.
