Former employees of Moldovan commercial bank convicted after purloining over one million lei from clients' accounts

Chisinau, 27 July /MOLDPRES/ - More former employees of Banca de Economii (Savings Bank - BEM), which is under liquidation, have been convicted, after they purloined more than one million lei (50,000 euros) from clients’ accounts.     

The file was sent to court in 2015, with nine people charged in it. The deeds took place on the period 2009-2011, when the defendants worked in various offices – beginning with the head of bank operations of the Dubasari-based branch and chief accountant, up to supervisor-cashier. Damages were caused to ten BEM depositors in this case.    

Three of the defendants recognized their guilt. Two of them were fined being charged only with document forgery. The third defendant who recognized her guilt and who additionally took possession of the embezzled money was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, with the deprivation of the right to hold financial positions for a period of four years.    

Another six defendants did not recognize their guilt. Four of them were sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and another two defendants were not called to account, as the limitation period intervened.  

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, one of the defendants, who in 2012 worked as head of the bank operations service, jointly with the chief accountant of the branch would have purloined over 180,000 lei from depositors’ accounts. The lack of money was detected on the same day and the employees would have said that the accounts from which the money was purloined would have been closed.   

On the same day, the chief accountant got from a supervisor-cashier the password from the bank automated system and would have fictitiously released 50,000 lei from two bank accounts.  

Through the forging of depositors’ signatures, the chief accountant would have illegally taken possession over 185,000 lei from more clients. The prosecutor’s office also said that ‘’another three defendants are charged with embezzlement with various sums – of almost 260,000 lei, 180,000 lei and 77,000 lei.’’