Society

27 December, 2025 / 00:18

/ 8 hours ago

Another former magistrate of Moldova found guilty in 'Laundromat' scheme avoids punishment due to statute of limitations

The Central Court of Appeal has upheld the guilt of a former magistrate involved in the 'Laundromat' case; yet, he escaped criminal punishment because of the expiration of the statute of limitations.

The decision on December 24, 2025, was announced by the Criminal Panel of the Central Court of Appeal, which dismissed the former judge's appeal against the sentence of the Chisinau Court, dated June 28, 2024.

The court found that the magistrate had knowingly issued court rulings contrary to the law, significantly affecting the debtors' assets. However, the enforcement of the punishment was hindered by the statute of limitations for criminal liability.

The case was initiated in September 2016 by the Prosecutor General, following the ex officio notification by the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office.

According to the case materials, in 2010, the judge issued an illegal ruling in a civil case at a request by a UK-based company, collecting 180 million dollars from an individual of Moldova and two companies from Russia.

In March 2013, the magistrate allegedly issued another similar ruling, in order to collect the sum of 610 million dollars from an individual of Moldova, a company from Seychelles and four firms from Russia.

Investigators claim that the court orders were issued without valid legal documents, which were to certify the creditor's representative powers and without the attached documents being properly legalized or authenticated. The total amounts were collected by the court bailiff and later used in an international money laundering scheme known as the 'Laundromat.'

The decision of the Court of Appeal can be challenged by appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice.

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