Vlad Filat, former Bessarabian prime minister, wanted by the judicial authorities in Paris for money laundering
Vlad Filat, former Bessarabian prime minister, convicted of money laundering in France, was internationally wanted by the judicial authorities in Paris.
The authorities in Paris put Filat on an international search. PHOTO: Facebook
The spokeswoman of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP) of the Republic of Moldova, Diana Fetco, stated that the Moldovan authorities were informed by those in Paris about the international wanted for his arrest.
“The international police cooperation department of the Police was notified by the Interpol Paris Central Office about the fact that the person in question is wanted internationally for the purpose of arrest”. Diana Fetco pointed out for “The Truth”.
Convicted with his ex-wife
A court in France sentenced in absentia the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Vlad Filat, to two years in prison and to the payment of a fine of 100,000 euros for money laundering in a corruption case. The decision was handed down in December. The case concerns funds of illicit origin that would have been used on French territory. The decision was consulted by the “AFP” news agency, which notes that Filat was not present at the trial.
The same court also convicted his former first wife Sanda. She was sentenced to 18 months of suspended imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros. At the same time, the former couple will have to pay 10,000 euros to the Republic of Moldova for moral damages.
Vlad Filat, former prime minister and current leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM), reacted on his Facebook page, stressing that the sentence is unjustified and concerns the purchase of a home.
,,The decision issued by the French court in the file regarding the division of assets after my divorce in 2012 is politically motivated and strongly influenced by the Republic of Moldova. The requests submitted to the French authorities were exaggerated and without legal basis, which led to an unprecedented decision in French jurisprudence, surprising both the lawyers and the parties involved in the process. I consider my involvement in this case as unjustified. The file has as its exclusive object the purchase of a house in France, and the continuation of the procedure in the French courts is based on a false testimony. At the same time, it is surprising that the Republic of Moldova became a party to this process and asked for compensation of 18 million euros, given that the file was previously filed in the Republic of Moldova”. he noted on his Facebook page.
The PLDM leader also stated that he contested the sentence in the higher court.
“I am confident that truth and legality will prevail, and abuse of procedure and political interference will be duly punished.” concluded Vlad Filat.
In May last year, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, tried and convicted for passive corruption and influence peddling, was acquitted in his second case for money laundering, the decision being taken by the judges “on the grounds that the deed does not meet the constitutive elements of the crime composition”.
In the criminal case for money laundering, Vlad Filat was accused that, in 2013, he concluded an assistance contract in the electoral campaign with a US consulting company, paying over 12 million Moldovan lei through companies managed by a relative of his, and the financial sources came from “Banca de Economii”, one of the three banks looted in 2014.
And at the beginning of 2023, Vlad Filat won at the ECHR the case in which he claimed that his right to a fair trial was violated, the neighboring state being obliged to pay 7500 euros in damages to the former prime minister.
Imprisoned in 2015
The former prime minister was handcuffed in October 2015 following a self-denunciation by the fugitive oligarch, Ilan Şor. And in the summer of the following year, during Plahotniuc's regime, Filat was sentenced to nine years in prison for passive corruption and influence peddling. He was released early in December 2019 after his sentence was reduced due to prison conditions.
Vlad Filat led the Government of the Republic of Moldova between 2009 and 2013, then he was a deputy on the lists of PLDM, the party he founded and currently leads.
