Politics

02 February, 2026 / 22:56

/ 6 hours ago

Former Moldovan parliament speaker makes statements after hearing in bank fraud file

State institutions were not strong and efficient enough to react in time to financial fraud. A former acting President of Moldova and former parliament speaker Marian Lupu today made statements to this effect, after being heard as a witness in the file in which Vladimir Plahotniuc is accused of involvement in the banking fraud, known as the “theft of the billion.”.

“We are talking about state institutions. You understand, I am not going to take the position of a prosecutor now and throw accusations at those in power from one institution or another – that is what the law is for. The conclusion is this: the institutional framework was not strong, intelligent and efficient enough to react in time. I will not go into details, because I do not want this to be misinterpreted, but as early as 2017–2018, in dialogue with colleagues from the European Parliament, they told me that even in countries with very well-developed institutions, it has happened that, on the same period, certain financial frauds took place,” said Marian Lupu.

Marian Lupu’s hearing takes place in the context of the investigation of the bank fraud file from 2014–2015, known as the “theft of the billion”, one of the largest financial scandals in the history of Moldova. Vladimir Plahotniuc is targeted in this case for his alleged involvement in the fraudulent scheme.

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