Former Moldovan politician used NZ trust to transfer millions to family

A former Moldovan politician now on the run for his role in a fraud coined the "Theft of the Century" in Moldova has used a trust based in New Zealand to transfer tens upon tens of millions of dollars to his family.

The information has come to light in the Pandora Papers in which millions of documents from companies offering financial services in tax havens were leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

Vladimir Plahotniuc, an oligarch and former Member of Parliament in Moldova, was last believed to be in Turkey after fleeing the country in 2019, authorities there then issued an arrest warrant for him after he failed to appear in front of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

He is alleged to be involved in several frauds including the "Theft of the Century" in which a billion dollars was taken from three banks in 2014.

Documents in the Pandora Papers show Plahotniuc created the Otiv Trust in 2011 with Asiaciti's New Zealand office based in Auckland, while others show his wife Oxana Childescu repeatedly requesting tens of millions of dollars be sent to her in Switzerland over multiple years.

In 2011 a due diligence report carried out for the financial sector warned that there were many serious allegations against Plahotniuc including "corruption, manipulation of the judiciary system, of money laundering, participation in arms trafficking and attacks on the Moldovan financial sector".

In 2020, the US State Department officially designated Plahotniuc "due to his involvement in significant corruption" meaning he and his family are inelligible to enter the United States.

"Today’s action sends a strong signal the United States does not tolerate corruption and stands with the people of Moldova in their fight against it," the State Department press release reads.

In a 2019 social media video posted to Twitter, Plahotniuc said Moldova "is no longer a safe place, and this is not because of the alleged criminal cases invented by my rivals, but because of some people who are willing to take over the country by force" and he vowed to eventually return to the country.

Asiaciti New Zealand did not respond to a request for an interview with 1 News about why they have been running the Otiv Trust for Plahotniuc.

Pandora Papers logo

Asiaciti's head office issued a lengthy written statement to 1News which did not address Plahotnuic.

It said that compliance is at the core of Asiaciti's business and that "we recognize there have been isolated instances in the past where we have not kept pace, and in these situations we have worked closely with regulatory authorities to address any deficiencies and quickly updated our policies and procedures".

"We take this opportunity to inform you that any allegations about us you may make are premised on inaccuracies and incomplete information.

"You are well aware of this, as reflected by your efforts to obtain information from us. We are disappointed that the ICIJ and its media partners, including TVNZ, persist with your intention to publish a story based on a distorted version of the facts to negatively characterize our industry, company and clients."

This story was produced in conjunction with the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists including NZME.

To see more details of the investigation, click here.

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