The European Union is stepping up pressure on Moldova to punish those behind a $1 billion bank heist in 2014 and recover the money, amid suspicions the government is buying time for possible political gain.
Ilan Shor, the convicted mastermind of the theft – that almost bankrupted Europe’s poorest country – remains free pending the result of an appeal; critics say the wheels of justice are moving too slowly and wonder whether the main ruling party is waiting to see if Shor’s own party may be needed to secure a majority after a parliamentary election in February.
Only a handful of other individuals have been sent to jail for involvement in what was a complex scheme to defraud the National Bank of Moldova of 13 billion Moldovan lei, then worth almost $1 billion or roughly 15 per cent of Moldova’s economic output.
