Platon granted bail in London; UK prosecutors to appeal
Westminster Magistrates' Court in London has decided to release Veaceslav Platon on bail of £330,000.
However, the decision is not final and is set to be appealed by British prosecutors. Until the appeal is heard by a higher court, Veaceslav Platon remains in custody. The information was confirmed by Alexandru Machidon, the acting Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova.
According to British law, release on bail is a provisional measure that allows a detained person to avoid remaining in custody, provided they strictly adhere to certain court-imposed conditions. These conditions may include surrendering their passport, the obligation to reside at a specified address, regular reporting to a police station, or a prohibition from leaving the United Kingdom.
This mechanism is designed to ensure the person's presence in court throughout the process and to prevent the risk of absconding. If the defendant fails to comply with the established conditions, the court can revoke bail, order re-arrest, and confiscate the deposited sum.
Veaceslav Platon, born on January 24, 1973, in Căușeni, is a Moldovan businessman and former MP, known for his involvement in several criminal cases that significantly impacted Moldova's financial system. He served as a Member of Parliament in the Republic of Moldova from 2009 to 2010, elected on the lists of the Our Moldova Alliance.
Platon was sentenced in 2017 to 18 years in prison for fraud and money laundering, in connection with the 2014 banking fraud, widely dubbed "the Billion-Dollar Heist." According to investigators, he allegedly defrauded Banca de Economii (a Moldovan bank) of over 800 million lei. In 2020, he was released after the then Prosecutor General, Alexandr Stoianoglo, declared that the case had been fabricated. Nevertheless, Platon remains subject to other investigations related to the same scheme, and in 2023, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced the confiscation of over 268 million lei from Moldindconbank accounts, deemed to be associated with him.
In another case, Platon was also sentenced in 2017 to 12 years in prison for orchestrating the embezzlement of over 200 million lei from the accounts of several insurance companies, including Moldasig. Investigators claimed the scheme had been implemented with the help of intermediaries and was halted by the National Financial Market Commission.
After his release from prison in 2020, Platon left the Republic of Moldova in 2021 and settled in London.
His name also appears in international investigations concerning the money laundering scheme known as the "Russian Laundromat," through which over $22 billion was allegedly transferred from Russia via Moldovan banks and courts. In 2023, Canadian authorities imposed sanctions against Platon, citing his ties to the Kremlin and risks to the security of the Republic of Moldova.
Also in 2023, a Moscow court sentenced him in absentia to 20 years in prison for involvement in an illegal fund withdrawal scheme from Russia, in collaboration with other individuals, including former Democratic Party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc.
In parallel, Platon is also under investigation for other financial offenses, including the falsification of banking instruments.
The controversial businessman was detained in the United Kingdom on March 13, based on an extradition request issued by Moldovan authorities as early as September 2024.
He claims that the cases against him are politically motivated.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
