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Sanctions As a Tool for Asset Recovery: Moldova

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Sanctions As a Tool for Asset Recovery: Moldova SANCTIONS AS A TOOL FOR ASSET RECOVERY: MOLDOVA CIFAR RESEARCH PAPER CIFAR.EU KEY MESSAGES • The Billion Dollar Bank Theft through which USD 1 billion was stolen from the country brought about economic crisis and severely damaged Moldova’s image and credibility. • Despite pressure from the public and the international community, Moldovan authorities have failed to bring any substantial results in the investigation of the alleged financial crimes, recovering the stolen assets, and punishing those responsible. • The withdrawal of financial assistance by the IMF, World Bank, and EU to the country in response to the theft did not produce any meaningful change to the way the authorities responded. • The implementation of a number of international sanctions regimes were advocated for to aid Moldova in its fight against kleptocracy. This included civil society campaigning for the introduction of a Global Magnitsky Act in Moldova itself, and the imposition of Magnitsky-style sanctions against Moldovan kleptocrats by the EU and the US. To date, however, little has been adopted. Paper prepared by Dumitru Alaiba for the Civil Forum for Asset Recovery e.V. (CiFAR). The author has made reasonable steps to ensure that the content is accurate. The views, opinions and evidence presented in this paper are the sole responsibility of the author. Published: 2020, CiFAR – Civil Forum for Asset Recovery e.V. CiFAR – Civil Forum for Asset Recovery e.V. Köpenicker Str. 147, Berlin, Germany, cifar.eu Cover picture: provided by Pixabay through a Pixabay Licence for free commercial usage without attribution.. 1 ASSET RECOVERY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION FRAMEWORK of fictitious companies registered in the EU, CORRUPTION OVERVIEW with Moldovan citizens acting as proxies (sometimes without suspecting it). The In the last few years, Moldova has involvement of Moldovan citizens allowed seen massive corruption at the highest the „debts” to be processed by the Moldovan government levels. Acts of corruption have court system. The total amount of the been de facto facilitated by the Moldovan money laundering operation is believed to state through some of its institutions, be over USD 80 billion. USD 22 billion passed destroying the country’s fragile credibility through the Moldovan scheme alone. before its international partners and its own Sixteen Moldovan judges were involved in 1 citizens. Once acclaimed as the Eastern the laundromat and while all of them were Partnership’s good student, holding ”the briefly detained for one month in 2016, highest mark for deep and sustainable they were subsequently released. Most of 2 democracy”, Moldova became a captured the judges resigned or were suspended, two state and a regional security threat for the judges have since died, and one has fled 3 EU. the country, but none of the judges were convicted.7 Although corruption was and is widespread in Moldova, two cases have shocked the In October 2020 all involved judges were Moldovan public and severely damaged freed from criminal investigation, and the country’s image and credibility: the some of them immediately requested Russian Laundromat and the Billion the Supreme Council of Magistrates to Dollar Bank Theft. Compared to them, be reinstated to their positions.8 In fact, other acts of corruption look trivial. Grand no high-ranking public servant or official corruption has turned the country towards who had responsibility to act to prevent kleptocracy, and away from reforms and money laundering has been convicted democratic development. In just a few until now. Moldindconbank, a commercial years, the country has seen a dramatic bank alleged to have acted as the backslide in democratic standards, freedom hub of the entire operation in Moldova, of expression, freedom of the mass media, suspected of laundering USD 21 billion freedom of assembly and especially through Moldova and registering revenues peaceful protest. Moldova is now seen as from this activity, has continued to work a source of corruption, organized crime undisturbed.9 The authorities have not and money laundering, which hardly attempted to recover any assets of illicit comes as a surprise in a situation where the origin from Moldindconbank. In comparison, Moldovan government passed a law that Danske Bank has been cooperating in the 4 decriminalized several economic crimes. investigations, and has forgone its profits registered from the Laundromat in Estonia.10 THE RUSSIAN LAUNDROMAT One decade since the start of the operation, Moldova was a central piece in the Russian the criminal investigation in Moldova is Laundromat - a massive money laundering stagnant. operation in EU jurisdictions between 5 6 2010 and 2014, originating in Russia. THE BILLION DOLLAR BANK THEFT Moldovan judges overnight legitimized In 2014, approximately one billion USD, fake debts of Russian companies in favor disappeared overnight from three Moldovan CIFAR.EU [email protected] PB 2 banks acting in acting in concert (Unibank, from criminal investigation by the Moldovan Banca Socială and Banca de Economii), General Prosecutor on October 2nd, 2020.16 all owned by Ilan Shor either directly or through proxies.11 The National Bank of In the years since the theft, Moldova has Moldova (NBM) acted quickly to bail out fallen 38 places in the Freedom of the Press the three banks by allocating money from Index - from 55th place in 2013 to 91st in the national foreign currency reserves. At 2020.17 In Transparency International’s the time, the NBM currency reserves were Corruption Perception Index Moldova has around USD 2.8 billion. A third of the Central fallen from 102th place in 2014 to 120th in Bank currency reserves were loaned to the 2019.18 Moldova has also fallen steadily in Ministry of Finance which used the funds to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy cover the hole within the banking system. In Index, changing its classification from spite of the bailout, the banks went bankrupt “flawed democracy” to a “hybrid regime”, anyway. Two years later, without any wider a non-democracy, for the first time in 2017, consultations, the Government approved three years after the theft.19 Moldova is also legislation according to which the theft will seen to pose a considerable risk of money be covered by the taxpayer in the course of laundering, being ranked 71/140 in the the next 25 years.12 2020 Basel Institute’s AML index, with a score of 5.4 out of 10.20 These are but a The main criticism towards this decision was few international rankings that depict a the lack of a credible investigation, the lack of general trend of the worsening of democratic asset recovery and the fact that no one was standards in the country and that did not go punished for the crime. The publishing of the unnoticed by the international community, Kroll-2 report13 by an independent auditing with concerns being expressed on multiple company revealed that the politicians in occasions.21 power at the time of the theft and their business partners to also be the suspected The short- and medium-term effects of the main beneficiaries of this crime, namely crisis brought about by the Billion Dollar Bank Vlad Plahtoniuc, Vlad Filat and Ilan Șor.14 A Theft were drastic: double-digit inflation, the parliamentary committee report conducted national currency exchange rate tumbling in 2019 led to similar conclusions and pointed 30% against the USD, electricity prices out to the undermining of investigations by rising sharply by around 30%, natural gas the General Prosecutor’s Office in the period prices by 15%. Within a few months these 2015-2019.15 spikes trickled into rising prices for consumer products.22 Overnight, because of a single 14% of GDP was stolen overnight and act of grand corruption, the population lost the immensity of the crime outraged the around a third of their income in real terms. population. For comparison, the theft would Massive protests erupted, an economic crisis be equivalent to USD 587 billion disappearing was underway, and Moldova’s partners (the overnight from a few German banks with IMF, EU, World Bank) turned away.23 Because the Central Bank stepping in to bail them of stalling reforms, a lack of progress in the out with taxpayer money, without any investigation and worsening democratic public scrutiny on the issue. Six years later, standards that culminated with the this crime remains unpunished. Although cancellation of local elections through court some charges were raised, no one has been order, EU funding was frozen repeatedly: in convicted. The trial of a fugitive MP Ilan Shor 2015,24 2017,25 and 2018.26 has been ongoingly postponed, while a few of his alleged accomplices and Members As a result of the theft, the country was of the Moldovan Parliament were freed sinking into a corruption-inflicted economic CIFAR.EU [email protected] PB 3 crisis and isolation, and social unrest was fighting against them. rising, with hundreds of thousands people taking to the streets.27 The ruling political ASSET RECOVERY OVERVIEW class faced tremendous internal and external pressure to deliver an investigation of the Under pressure from the public, and from thefts, recover the assets and punish those the international community, the Moldovan responsible. However, as revealed five years authorities have committed to investigate later in an independent investigative audit, financial crimes, to recover stolen assets, those responsible were those in power.28 and to punish those responsible for the stolen billion.37 However, even though the To stop the waves of protest, a gradual stifling actions that followed suggest steps in the of democratic freedoms started. Propaganda right direction, they have failed to bring any to silence inconvenient opinions, defamation, substantial results. A few examples of the attacks on civil society, intimidation of steps taken by the Moldovan government in NGOs and free media, and the introduction the aftermath of the theft scandal are listed of legislation that limits transparency and below.
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