A Moldovan court has approved the prosecutors' request to seize assets worth around MDL 2.3 billion (EUR 120 million) belonging to Moldova's third-largest bank by assets, Victoriabank, Deschide.md reported.

Since 2018, Victoriabank has been controlled by a consortium formed by Romania's largest lender - Banca Transilvania and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The prosecutors requested the seizure as part of their investigations related to the frauds in the banking system (the "one billion dollar fraud") that surfaced in 2014-2015. The bank's management expressed surprise about the investigations related to acts supposed to have taken place six years ago.

"In our opinion, Victoriabank, in its current form [controlled by Banca Transilvania and the EBRD] and after the transformation started in 2018, has nothing to do with the case investigated by the authorities. To demonstrate this, Victoriabank is working with the authorities and awaits the next steps in the process," Victoriabank said in a press release.

Romania's Banca Transilvania became a shareholder of Victoriabank with a total participation of over 66% alongside the EBRD in January 2018. Under a subsequent buy-out, their stake rose by another 5.4pp to 72%, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Victoriabank's assets, EUR 730 mln at the end of last year, accounted for 3.8% of Banca Transilvania group's total assets. The EUR 1.8 mln profit reported by Victoriabank last year accounted for 0.5% of BT group's aggregated profit.

The prosecutors' investigations related to Victoriabank have a very important political dimension. Veaceslav Platon, a Moldovan businessman deeply involved in the Russian laundromat and indirect owner of several banks in the country, was reportedly forced by former Moldovan political leader Vlad Plahotniuc to sell him (among others) the majority stake in Victoriabank, in 2014. After Plahotniuc lost the elections last year (and left the country), his rival, president Igor Dodon, released Platon from jail.

Video footage leaked in the media shows Platon chatting with head prosecutor Alexandr Stoianoglo about how the majority stake in Victoriabank might be recovered [from Banca Transilvania and EBRD]. Stoianoglo restarted the investigations in the case of the bank frauds blaming Plahotniuc and central bank officials for the deeds. 

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Facebook/Victoriabank)