Dodon Named the "Architects of the Theft of a Billion." Whom Did He Mean?

Moldovan President Igor Dodon called the National Committee for Financial Stability “architect of the theft of a billion”. NM looked into what kind of committee it was, what decisions he made at that time, why Dodon spoke about it today, and what the Pro Moldova parliamentary group leader Andrian Candu and his threats to Dodon have to do with it. What did Dodon say The fact that the "architects" of the theft of a billion were members of the Financial Stability Committee, President Dodon said at a May 14 briefing following a meeting of the Supreme Security Council. Dodon said that “a significant progress” was outlined in the investigation of bank theft, and threatened punishment not only to those who carried out this theft, but also to those who prepared legislative changes that would allow stealing a billion euros from Moldovan banks. “They prepared, they are architects, and they will answer,” said Dodon. What kind of committee The National Committee for Financial Stability was created in 2010 by the decision of the government “for coordination between authorities”. The committee's powers included: managing emergency financial situations, identifying systemic crises, developing proposals “on policies and measures to protect deposits, capitalization and recapitalization of banks”, etc. The composition of the committee was formed under the right of positions: it included the Prime Minister (at that time Vladimir Filat), the head of the National Bank (Dorin Dragutanu), the Minister of Economics (Valeriu Lazar), the Minister of Finance (Viaceslav Negruta), the head of the parliamentary commission on economics, budget and Finance (Viacheslav Ionita), head of the National Commission for Financial Markets (Mihai Cubotaru) and head of the Deposit Guarantee Fund in the banking system (Eduard Usatii). A year later, the Secretary General of the government was included in the committee. Then this post was held by Victor Bodiu. In 2013-2014, after the change of government, the composition of the committee changed: it included Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, the new head of the Ministry of Finance Anatol Arapu and the new head of the Ministry of Economics, the current head of the ex-Democrats group Pro Moldova Andrian Candu. In 2016, the composition of the committee was reduced: it included the head of the National Bank (then Sergiu Cioclea), the Minister of Economy (Octavian Calmic), the Minister of Finance (Octavian Armasu), the head of the National Commission for Financial Market (Yuri Filip) and the head of the Bank Deposit Guarantee Fund system (Eduard Usatii). Since then, the staff of the committee has not changed, and in 2019 Moldova adopted a law that regulates the work of the Financial Stability Committee. Dodon vs Candu? The fact that the National Committee for Financial Stability participated in decisions related to bank theft has long been known. So, in September last year, the deputy speaker of the parliament, Alexandru Slusari, who headed the parliamentary commission investigating the theft of a billion, said that in November 2014, the Financial Stability Committee made the decision to allocate a loan of 9.5 billion lei on the government's security to three problem banks. In an interview with NM, Slusari clarified that the meeting at which the Committee adopted this decision was attended by Leanca, Candu, Arapu and Dragutanu (this meeting was held on November 7, 2014, three weeks before the National Bank introduced a special department in three problem banks) . On the recommendation of the Committee, the government approved the decision on a loan of 9.5 billion lei. “This decision made it possible to withdraw over 25 billion lei from banks in three weeks,” Slusari said. It is noteworthy that a few days before Dodon's statement about the "architects" of the theft, Andrian Candu, as head of the parliamentary group Pro Moldova, called on the parliamentary opposition and other deputies dissatisfied with the current government to create an anti-government bloc and overthrow the government. The Shor party immediately announced joining this bloc. At the same time, Candu said that Dodon would not reach the presidential election and threatened him with compromising evidence: “I personally, and we from Pro Moldova [...] will make it impossible for you to get to the presidential election. Everything related to financial interests, schemes and much more that surrounds you will soon be revealed to the public. Sit on a chair, behave yourself, soon a very interesting time awaits you. ” Candu commented on Dodon’s statement about the “architects” of theft on his Facebook: “President Dodon tells us about the theft of a billion and about the Airport, things that we heard before, both from him and from other people. Nothing new. It is clearly seen from this that the political agenda of the future presidential candidate Igor Dodon is the only thing that interests him. ” NM was not able to ask Candu questions about his participation in the decision to allocate 9.5 billion lei to the three banks from which the money was withdrawn: Candu did not answer calls, SMS messages and Facebook messages. What do the former committee members say IDIS Viitorul expert Veaceslav Ionita, previously a member of the committee, said in an interview with NM that he did not know what Igor Dodon had in mind when he called the committee members “the architects of the theft”. “The committee did not have any formal powers - it was an advisory body. He coordinated the actions of state bodies. For example, when in 2011 there was a raider attack on one of the Moldovan banks. Then the committee discussed what actions should be taken and made recommendations,” Ionita said. According to him, after he began to speak publicly about such an opportunity two months before the official announcement of the theft of a billion, he was no longer invited to committee meetings. One of the members of the Financial Stability Committee in 2010-2014, who insisted on anonymity, told NM that there were no legislative issues discussed at the committee’s site, he did not have the authority to prepare amendments to laws. According to him, it was a platform for discussing problems. The NM interlocutor also emphasized that the issue of the situation at the Vanca de Economii was actively discussed in 2013, and then it was not raised again until November 2014, when “everything had already happened”. “For much of 2014 this topic was not discussed, and against the background of this calm, the issue was not raised. Perhaps, someone was doing their dark deeds in a quiet pool,” the source suggested. Transparency International expert Veaceslav Negruta, who served as Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2013 and was then a member of the committee, in an interview with NM suggested that Dodon refers to the committee’s decisions made since September 2014. “Prior to legislative changes in 2014, the committee did not have the authority to make any decisions, including the issue of loans under state guarantees. In September 2014, after a change in legislation, the committee received such powers. And all the decisions he made were approved by the government and parliament, including on loans under state guarantees (for problem banks. - NM),” Negruta said. What do experts say Political expert Victor Ciobanu considers Dodon’s statement about the “architects of the theft” a response to the Pro Moldova and the Shore party actions against the government. “Here, the plot is chosen in the same way: theft of a billion and the Airport. He clearly hits the group of Candu and Shor. In addition, Prime Minister Ion Chicu expressed the same thesis about the fault of the Financial Stability Committee in an interview. Moreover, he said that at that very meeting of the committee they came with the figure of 6.5 billion lei, and left with the decision to allocate 9.5 billion lei. That is, they [the government and Dodon] were preparing this strike,” Ciobanu believes. He suggested that Dodon’s threats might not end in anything, “if Candu is silent, and everyone else will understand that Dodon is in charge here.” “But, since many understand that Dodon is not the main one, the situation will become tense,” the expert summed up.