---
title: "Veaceslav Platon faces trial for attempted illegal acquisition of over 400 million lei in \"Moldova-Agroindbank\" shares"
url: https://moldova1.md/p/85125/veaceslav-platon-faces-trial-for-attempted-illegal-acquisition-of-over-400-million-lei-in-moldova-agroindbank-shares
published: 2026-09-11T13:32:18Z
language: en
author: "Dumitru Petruleac"
section: "Justice"
source: moldova1.md
---

# Veaceslav Platon faces trial for attempted illegal acquisition of over 400 million lei in "Moldova-Agroindbank" shares

> The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has concluded its criminal investigation and has sent the case to court. Veaceslav Platon is accused of orchestrating a scheme to illegally acquire 43.11% of the shares in "Moldova-Agroindbank." Marcel Dumbrăvan, head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, made the announcement on September 11.

![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/08cb0c24-55c2-45b4-94d4-4e539c4878fe.jpg)

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has concluded its criminal investigation and has sent the case to court. Veaceslav Platon is accused of orchestrating a scheme to illegally acquire 43.11% of the shares in "Moldova-Agroindbank." Marcel Dumbrăvan, head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, made the announcement on September 11.

According to evidence presented by prosecutors, Veaceslav Platon allegedly organized and directed a scheme involving false documents to facilitate transactions for acquiring a bank's share package without the consent of the legal owners or their successors. 

To conceal the illicit origin of the shares, prosecutors claim they were traded to non-resident companies, with Platon as the true beneficiary. The funds used for this fictitious acquisition of the share package from BC 'Moldova-Agroindbank' SA are said to have originated from the "Russian Laundromat." Securing the share package would have enabled Platon to appoint loyal individuals to the Bank's management, allowing him to maintain control for a period, according to a statement from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. 

Investigators noted that in decisions made in December 2015 and March 2016, the Executive Committee of the National Bank of Moldova determined that the entities acquiring and holding the 43.11% stake in BC Moldova-Agroindbank S.A. were acting in concert with the bank. These shares were later canceled by the National Commission for the Financial Market and were put up for sale at a value exceeding 400 million lei.

During the criminal investigation, investigators collected evidence, including information on the origin of the funds, which allegedly came from the "Russian Laundromat." The investigation also identified the flow of dividends among the involved entities and other circumstances that formed the basis of the accusations. Following a request by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office for international legal assistance to notify Veaceslav Platon of the indictment and hear him as a defendant, he, accompanied by his defense attorney, refused to acknowledge the indictment. Consequently, with the court's authorization, the criminal investigation was completed in his absence, stated Marcel Dumbrăvan, head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

**Who is Veaceslav Platon?**

Veaceslav Platon is a controversial businessman and former member of parliament known for his involvement in several criminal cases that have significantly impacted the financial system of the Republic of Moldova. He is also linked to the "*Russian Laundromat*" scheme.

In 2017, Platon was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud and money laundering related to the 2014 banking fraud, commonly referred to as the "*theft of the billion*." He was arrested in Ukraine and extradited to Chișinău, where investigators alleged that he had caused damages to Banca de Economii exceeding 800 million lei.

After his release from prison in 2020—granted by then Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo, suspected of being a close associate of Platon—he left the Republic of Moldova shortly before the early parliamentary elections in 2021, which the Action and Solidarity Party won. He then settled in London.

Platon remains the subject of several investigations in Moldova. In 2023, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced the confiscation of over 268 million lei from the accounts of "*Moldindconbank*", which is believed to be associated with him. Additionally, in another case in 2017, Platon was sentenced to 12 years in prison for orchestrating the theft of over 200 million lei from insurance companies, including "*Moldasig*." The scheme allegedly involved intermediaries and was eventually halted by the National Financial Market Commission.

On March 13, 2025, Platon was detained in the UK after Moldovan authorities submitted an extradition request in September 2024. After spending some time in pre-trial detention, a British court granted him bail on July 23, 2025, with a £330,000 guarantee and electronic monitoring. The Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Moldova has said bail does not waive the extradition process; it only changes the preventive measure while the British courts consider the case.

In July 2025, Platon was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison by a Moscow court. He was found guilty of illegally conducting foreign exchange operations using false documents as part of the "*Russian Laundromat*" scheme, which allegedly facilitated the unjustified removal of over 48 billion rubles (approximately $600 million) from Russia between 2013 and 2014.