Michalko on Laundromat Defendants’ Restoration: Moldova’s Great Failure

Restoring 5 of the 13 judges who escaped Laundromat case prosecution is Moldova’s major failure in terms of its commitment to reforming the judiciary. This stated the head of the EU Delegation Peter Michalko on the air of Jurnal TV. channel program. “Unfortunately, many negative past phenomena have not disappeared, have not been resolved, but continue to remain or even reappear. There are points of concern. The Laundromat was linked to a bigger scandal, even a bigger crime than stealing a billion. These judges were released from criminal prosecution and restored. This means that no one will be punished after 6 years the crime has been solved. No verdict has been passed and this is a very big failure in terms of Moldova's obligations regarding justice to international partners. This decision is a very negative signal for the society and the justice system. This greatly undermines citizens' confidence in the system,” Peter Michalko said. Recall, the Supreme Council of Magistrates (SCM) took into account the petitions of 5 judges, in respect of whom the investigation into their involvement in the Laundromat was previously terminated. The SCM decided to reinstate the judges in office and pay them their salaries for the period until they were suspended from their duties. Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office decided to remove the judges under investigation from criminal prosecution for money laundering complicity within the Laundromat case. The decision was made in September, but the prosecutor's office did not announce it publicly. Recall, 15 judges were initially detained, and just two months after imprisonment, one of them died in prison. Since they are no longer under criminal investigation, the 5 dismissed judges wanted to return to work and receive the salary that had not been paid to them for four years while the persecution continued. The judges were detained on charges of about $ 20 billion laundering complicity through our courts. During all this time, the criminal prosecution body failed to prove the charged crime and the judges were released from criminal prosecution. Acting head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said that the decision was taken due to lack of evidence.