VIDEO // Thirteen members of Patron crime ring sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in France

Thirteen members of the crime ring Patron, including the group's leader, have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in France.

According to prosecutors, the group's leader, self-proclaimed "thief in law," got  the longest prison term of 10 years, along with a fine of 300,000 euros. Nevertheless, as he is evading authorities, the French state has issued an international warrant for his arrest, including for crimes committed in Moldova.

In May 2023, the law-enforcement institutions from Moldova publicly announced his search for his role as the organizer of a 5-million-lei extortion, for which a former renowned sportsperson was detained at that time.

The other members of the criminal organization were born in the districts of Briceni, Criuleni, Ialoveni, and Straseni. They received prison sentences and fines. Thus, a fine of 200,000 euros was imposed on the leader's "supervisor" over   Moldovan citizens in France, sentenced to nine years in prison, who also instructed two Moldovan sportsmen in committing crimes in France.

They were sentenced by French authorities for crimes committed both in France and other European Union countries. The list includes large-scale money laundering, the production and counterfeiting of cigarettes in EU countries, extortions, including "racketeering" against companies in France and activities of collecting money for the common budget of the Patron crime ring, as well as for 16 thefts in the Orléans region of France. Among the stolen items, there were tools and construction devices worth approximately 300,000 euros.

Members of the Patron crime ring have been earlier investigated and sentenced, in 2007-2012, in Italy, in the Octopus case, including its leader - to eight years in prison. In Moldova, criminal proceedings against the organization started in 2010, before its expansion into Romania - facts that have been investigated since 2018.





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