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Weekly Lists
June 15, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
bne:Banker
Moldova’s head prosecutor names beneficiaries of $1bn bank fraud
Moldova’s head prosecutor Eduard Harujen announced that the final beneficiaries of the $1bn (over 10% of the country’s GDP) bank frauds that surfaced in 2014-2015 have been established, according to a strategy aimed at recovering the money published on June 13.
After the frauds were revealed, the central bank spent MDL13.8bn ($1bn at that time) to bail out three banks, Banca de Economii a Moldovei (BEM), Banca Sociala and Unibank, which were later liquidated.
Two groups, one coordinated by former BEM chairman Grigore Gacikevici, and the other coordinated by local investor Ilan Shor, former prime minister Vlad Filat and convicted corporate raider Veaceslav Platon are the main beneficiaries of the frauds, Harujen stated on June 13 upon unveiling the report. The former group
is responsible for MDL3.5bn siphoned from BEM, and the latter siphoned MDL6.5bn.
Bondholders of $545mn worth of bonds secured by 45% of Russian Standard bank (aka Russky Standart) are demanding repayment ahead of schedule, RBC business portal reported citing the announcement of the investors' committee, which consolidated over 25% of the issue that defaulted back in October 2017.
Previously this year the bank proposed a restructuring deal, offering to pay its bondholders 20% of the face value of its bonds plus a share of the bank’s profits.
Apparently the investors' committee rejected the restructuring deal as it now says it intends to demand trustees start the procedure of selling a 45% stake in Russian Standard to extract the best possible price.
After raiding over 20 houses and bank offices in Ljubljana, Koper and Kranj, Slovenian police arrested five people and accused 35 of being a part of a “crime ring” involved in providing illegal bank loans creditworthiness, Slovenian media reported on June 11.
In the slick operation, bankers were giving small and speedy loans to those who were not able to get loan the regular way for multiple rea- sons. Typically the loans were worth around €5,000, of which a client would get €4,000 and a banker and middleman the remaining €1,000.
This caused combined damage of about €850,000 and among the banks which have been hit by this crime are Slovenia’s largest bank Nova Ljubljanska Bank (NLB), Addiko bank and Delavska hranilnica.
Bondholders of Russian Standard bank demand repayment of default bonds ahead
of schedule
Slovenian banks raided over illegal loans scam