Head of Moldova's General Police Inspectorate provides details on detention of former policeman

A former Moldovan policeman, Ion Perju, has been monitored for a long period of time, with the final goal being for him to be documented and detained for illegal actions, including money laundering. He is now to be handed over to penitentiary institutions, to serve his sentence for murder. The head of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP), Viorel Cernauteanu, made statements to this effect during the TVR Moldova program, Obiectiv Comun (Common Goal).

The IGP leadership ensured that the law enforcement agencies have taken all necessary actions to elucidate this case, conducting a joint operation with the State Tax Service.

‘’We should not forget that the person comes from internal business systems and was aware of certain search procedures and methods. He evaded capture for a long time, and there are also documents with other identities. The person was under surveillance by us for a long time and was subject to special investigation measures. When the operation started, in which he was facilitating the processes of conversion, liquidation, and money laundering for the Shor criminal group, capturing him at the initial phase would have derailed the process of documenting the money laundering,’’ said Viorel Cernauteanu.

The head of the National Police emphasized that the operation aimed to clarify all financial processes and the value of money laundering transactions, which involved very large amounts of money.

'The final goal was to document and detain the citizen, in order to be handed over to penitentiary institutions to serve his murder sentence, but also for illegal money laundering activities. A decision was made a few months ago whether to solely focus on his arrest or to conduct this operation, in order to elucidate the money laundering process,’’ said Viorel Cernauteanu.

The commissioner said that, following today's searches, other individuals were also detained.

‘’There are other individuals involved and detained in this investigation process. During the searches, materials and assets from several companies were seized. This includes a construction company, an oil company, the headquarters of a Media Trust affiliated with the Shor group and the concerned person's residence—actually three residences. Thus, we are talking about a string of searches that are neither simple nor quick,’’ explained Viorel Cernauteanu.

The actions carried out today by the law enforcement bodies were conducted as part of a criminal file opened for tax evasion and money laundering. The investigations targeted the Shor criminal organization, and during special measures, the financing network it operated was identified.

The authorities announced that they would continue the investigation actions, in order to identify other individuals involved in the criminal scheme.