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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to blame for the huge bank fraud of 2014 in the Republic of Moldova, says Socialist deputy Nicolae Pascaru, known for advocating theories over the involvement of the Republic of Moldova in geopolitical struggle between the United States, Russia and China. The Moldovan MP doesn’t explain how the IMF could plunder or order the plundering of banks in the Republic of Moldova.
NEWS: “The protagonist of the “theft of the century” was the IMF, although only small fish have been arrested”, the mejdurecie.md news portal in the Republic of Moldova writes, quoting the statements of Socialist deputy Nicolae Pascaru, who referred to the 2014 bank fraud in the Republic of Moldova and Parliament’s recent lifting of the immunity for two deputies, one of whom is involved in a related investigation.
Nicolae Pascaru believes the two deputies are “small fish”, whereas the top actor behind the bank fraud was the IMF.
“The influential Western fund plotted to destroy the Moldovan banking system, which is one of the pillars of the economy. For this reason, the Prosecutor General’s office is having a hard time bringing the culprits to justice, since this was a geopolitical action. All parties are involved in this case. Only the Party of Socialists, one of the normal parties in Moldova, had nothing to do with this court case. And this is why everyone is attacking us. But our rating will go up. They are determined to take us out to prologue the chaos and rob our country. The new political forces in Moldova are not interested in the development of the country, but only in geopolitical games. They want us (the Republic of Moldova, e.n.) to act against Russia, together with the Baltic States and Ukraine”, Socialist deputy Nicolae Pascaru said, quoted by a number of sources, particularly in Russian.
NARRATIVE: The International Monetary Fund (and the West) are behind the huge bank fraud in 2014.
BACKGROUND: In 2014, 1 billion dollars disappeared from three banks in the Republic of Moldova, the total loss of the scheme accounting for some 12% of the country’s GDP.
It seems the operation had been ongoing for quite some time, and most suspicious transactions occurred in late autumn, ahead of the parliamentary election.
After news of the theft broke out, the fraud triggered a widespread economic and political crisis, and the Moldovan Leu depreciated abruptly. The three banks in question went bankrupt and were liquidated a year later.
Representatives of the Party of Socialists, including the former Prime Minister, Ion Chicu, accused Western powers on multiple occasions of being responsible for the bank fraud, at least indirectly, since the funds were extracted while the Republic of Moldova was being governed by a professedly pro-European coalition.
Socialist deputy Nicolae Pascaru is known for his anti-Western stance and for his statements describing Moldova as an important stake in major geopolitical confrontations at global level.
PURPOSE: To depict the West as the sole responsible for the problems facing the Republic of Moldova, including the 2014 bank fraud.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The investigation into the bank fraud doesn’t involve the IMF or any other international organization. The IMF couldn’t have stolen the money from Moldovan banks or influence the theft. In 2014, the Fund didn’t even have a standing agreement with the Republic of Moldova, after the previous one had been suspended in March, 2014, after the Moldovan authorities failed to honor their obligations.
The investigation revealed, on the other hand, that one of the people responsible for the fraud was the former chairman of the board of the Savings Banks, Ilan Shor. Shor in the meantime secured a mandate as Mayor of Orhei, one of the largest cities in the Republic of Moldova, subsequently founded a party and even entered Parliament, while also receiving a sentence in the court of first instance.
Based on Shor’s deposition, former Prime Minister Vlad Filat and a controversial businessman, Vyacheslav Platon, were also handed prison sentences. After the demise of the Democrats in 2019 and the appointment of a new prosecutor general, the two were released and the working theory of the prosecutor’s office right now is that the primary beneficiaries in this case were Ilan Shor and the former president of the Democratic Party, Vlad Plahotniuc.
WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT: The Party of Socialists, who shifts the blame on politicians opting to strengthen relations with the West, particularly president Maia Sandu, by blaming Western powers for the problems facing the Republic of Moldova.
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