EBRD says it is concerned by indictment against Moldova's Victoriabank
CHISINAU, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed serious concern on Wednesday about an indictment against Moldova's Victoriabank, in which it is a shareholder.
The EBRD said in a statement that the move, and a court warrant authorising the seizure of assets, was linked with an investigation into fraudulent activities in the Moldovan banking sector in 2014.
"The EBRD trusts that the investigation will respect clients and customers of Victoriabank as well as its current shareholders... Failure to do so risks destabilising the entire financial sector with grave consequences for Moldova's economy," the EBRD said in a statement.
Victoriabank is now majority-controlled by Romania's Banca Transilvania and the EBRD, it added, saying the lender was now a strong financial institution, managed according to high corporate governance standards.
On Tuesday, Moldova's prosecutor general's office said a local court had authorised the seizure of a commercial bank's assets worth around $11.5 million following a request by the anti-corruption prosecutor's office.
It said the seizure could compensate for the damage caused by money laundering and abuse of office and that the funds could be confiscated in the interests of the state.
Prosecutors gave no more details of the charges and did not name the bank. The prosecutor's office declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The EBRD was not immediately available for comment.
In 2014-2015, $1 billion was stolen from the three largest Moldovan banks, the equivalent of an eighth of the gross domestic product of the impoverished former Soviet republic.
The scandal, known locally as the "theft of the century", triggered street protests, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union froze aid, the leu currency plunged to record lows and inflation climbed into double digits.
Moldova jailed and then released former prime minister Vlad Filat and businessman Veaceslav Platon in connection with the scandal, in which money was siphoned overseas through dubious loans, asset swaps and shareholder deals.
(Reporting by Aleksander Tanas, writing by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
