Eight Moldovans suspected of causing damage worth over two million euros to France

Chisinau, 6 July /MOLDPRES/ - Border Police employees, jointly with prosecutors and investigation authorities from France, with the support of Europol, have disclosed a criminal scheme, through which over two million euros was embezzled from funds of France. Eight Moldovans and one Frenchman were detained.    

According to the General Inspectorate of the Border Police, decision-makers found out that, during 2018-2020, the organized crime ring had lured more than 1,000 Moldovan citizens to apply for a French programme. Thus, the crime ring members were carrying people by mini-bus from Briceni to Paris, where, based on forged documents, they were applying to the concerned programmes and were received between 700 and 1,350 euros from the crime ring’s members and the crime ring appropriated the rest of the money: between 5,000 and 7,000 euros for each forged file submitted.      

Recently, following a string of searches made simultaneously by employees of law-enforcement bodies, made up of Moldovan and French prosecutors and investigation officers, nine people were detained (eight Moldovans – four men and four women older than 40 years and one French person).

The criminal prosecution continues both in France and in Moldova, in order to establish all people involved in the crime, including against economic agents which provided services of passengers’ carriage, as well as regarding two non-governmental organizations.

Those eight people run the risk of being sentenced to 7-10 years of imprisonment.

photo: Border Police