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24 International THE DAILY HERALD, Thursday, March 16, 2017

CHISINAU--Two months Moldovan officials includ- as 10 senior bank managers,
ago, Moldova’s Deputy ing Garaba’s boss Eduard senior central bank officials
General Prosecutor Iurie Harunjen told Reuters, is and four bailiffs in the money-
Garaba travelled to Moscow to derail a Moldovan probe laundering investigation.
with an invitation to attend into a Russian-led money Russian law enforcement
an official function for Rus- laundering operation that authorities also say they have
sia’s General Prosecutor’s funnelled $22.3 billion of been investigating the Mol-
Day. The visit didn’t go as Russian money through the dova scheme for several years.
planned. Moldovan financial system Some lawyers who work in the
Garaba was stopped by between 2011-2014. Under Russian criminal justice sys-
border guards at Moscow’s that scheme, Russian shell tem say it is common for one
airport and taken in for companies took fictitious arm of Russian law enforce-
questioning. He said one loans from offshore compa- ment to investigate a crime
guard rifled through his nies based in Britain. The while another arm resists that
passport for 15-20 minutes transactions were guaran- effort because they have com-
while another asked what he teed by Moldovan citizens, a peting interests.
was doing in Russia - despite move designed to allow Mol- Moldova says it has sent re-
his official invitation and a dovan judges complicit in peated requests to Russia over
document naming him as the scheme to order the fake the past six years for help get-
the head of the Moldovan loans be paid out, thus en- ting to the bottom of a scheme
delegation. suring the transfer of money dubbed by local press as the
“I was asked questions that out of Russia, according to “Russian Laundromat” which
Moldovan President Igor Dodon attends a news conference after a meeting with his Russian
have absolutely nothing to Moldovan prosecutors who allegedly washed money
do with border document have been investigating the counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, January 17, 2017. from more than 100 Russian
checks. For example, ‘How matter. companies and 21 Russian fi-
do I pronounce my last Moldova, Europe’s poorest produce. authorities about treatment Kremlin but by people in the nancial institutions. The Rus-
name?’, or ‘How to write it country, borders EU mem- The Moldovan officials in- of their officials. interior ministry and the secu- sian Interior Ministry said in
correctly?’, Garaba told Re- ber Romania, with which it terviewed by Reuters said rity service. In Russia, the FSB response to inquiries that it
uters by telephone. has close linguistic and cul- Moldovan intelligence had Pro-Moscow President oversees the border guards could not comment on the
Reuters was unable to in- tural ties, but remains heav- detailed knowledge of indi- The row comes at a time when service. They believe FSB of- money-laundering case itself
dependently confirm his ily reliant on Russian energy viduals in Russia’s FSB se- Moldova’s recently elected ficials used part of the money because of the on-going Rus-
version of events. But some supplies. As in Ukraine and curity service who allegedly president, Igor Dodon, is from the money-laundering to sian investigation into it.
Moldovan officials say the Georgia, moves by Chisinau ran the scheme together looking to pull the country further Russian state interests. Last week Moldova’s Prime
incident is part of a cam- to forge closer ties with the with a Moldovan business- away from the European The government has not Minister and the President
paign by members of Rus- EU have been strongly re- man called Veaceslav Pla- Union’s orbit and back to- specified an exact number of the Moldovan parliament
sia’s security apparatus to sisted by Moscow. Moldova ton. Platon’s wife told Re- wards Moscow, in opposition of cases or when the abuse met the Russian ambassador
humiliate officials from the signed a political and trade uters by phone that he de- to the country’s staunchly pro- started, but estimates 25 offi- in Chisinau to send a note of
ex-Soviet state as they travel pact with the EU in 2014, nies any wrongdoing. Western government. After cials had been harassed just in complaint to Moscow about
to or through Russia. prompting Russia to slap a A spokeswoman for the months of waiting for Russia the last few months, and one the way Moldovan officials
The primary aim, four top retaliatory ban on Moldovan Russian Interior Ministry, to change its behaviour or officer at the Interior Ministry were being treated. The note
in response to written ques- for Dodon to intervene, the was stopped and questioned also said that the Russian au-
tions submitted by Reuters, Moldovan government went 35 times. “We have tens of thorities had repeatedly ig-
said the ministry could not public with its grievances last such cases,” Interior Minister nored Moldovan requests for
comment on Moldova’s Thursday and announced Alexandru Jizdan told Re- help to trace the origins of the
complaints of harassment that no officials would travel uters. laundered money and infor-
because the Garaba case to Russia until the issue was One interior ministry official mation to piece together how
and others described in this resolved. said she had been stopped the scheme was carried out
article were not within its Its March 9 press statement three times at Moscow air- and who was involved.
remit. said “all this abuse, harassing port, most recently in January. “We are studying it, trying to
Reuters also sent requests Moldovan officials at the entry On the third occasion, she said understand what specific is-
for comment on the harass- into the Russian Federation she jokingly told the Russian sues the Moldovan side is rais-
ment to the Federal Security and putting them on interna- guard she could find her own ing with us, and we are ready
Service (FSB) and the Gen- tional monitoring, took speed way to the interrogation room. for cooperation to solve com-
eral Prosecutor’s office, but and size once the (money plex issues,” Russian Foreign
received no response. The laundering) investigation pro- Russian Laundromat Ministry spokeswoman Maria
Russian Foreign Ministry gressed.” The complaints of harassment Zakharova told journalists at
told a regular briefing last The Moldovan officials said comes as Moldovan prosecu- a routine briefing on Friday,
week it was studying a com- they do not believe the harass- tors have launched criminal speaking about Moldova’s
plaint made by Moldovan ment is orchestrated from the cases against 14 judges as well note to Russia.