The chances that Veaceslav Platon will be extradited to the Republic of Moldova are high, said the deputy head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office Octavian Yakimovski. In a program on TV8, he said that the evidential basis against Platon is solid and that only particular aspects regarding the conditions of detention could influence the decision of the British court, IPN reports.
"As regards the evidentiary side, we are quite sure that there are no grounds to refuse the extradition of Mr. Platon, including if particular political aspects are invoked," said Yakimovski.
Asked if there is a risk that Platon will be released in Moldova, after a possible extradition, Yakimovski stressed that he cannot make predictions.
"I don't think you will find a prosecutor or a lawyer who will give you a guarantee of a judicial process, as it should happen. I can't predict or foresee what will happen. I'm not talking about trust because, in some situations, there could also be issues when prosecutors subjectively assess the evidence as not too solid," said Yakimovski.
However, he noted that it would be strange for a European court to consider Platon's arrest legal and approve the extradition, and he would be released in the Republic of Moldova.
Ten days ago, the justice system in the UK denied Veaceslav Platon's request for bail. He will wait behind bars for the decision on extradition.
Lawyer Peter Caldwell said that his client, Veaceslav Platon, whom he presented as an "effective dissident", applied for political asylum in the UK, as a result of the treatment he received during custody in the Republic of Moldova, after being detained in 2016.
On April 20, 2017, Veaceslav Platon was sentenced to 18 years in prison in the bank fraud case. On June 15, 2020, he was released from detention following a request by the then Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo. At the end of May 2021, the Prosecutor General's Office dropped the charges against Veaceslav Platon in the bank fraud case, and on June 14 he was acquitted in that case.
On July 18, 2021, Veaceslav Platon left the Republic of Moldova, and on August 12 he was placed on an international wanted list and an arrest warrant was issued for him for failure to appear at the court hearing in the case in which he is accused of fraud in particularly large proportions and corruption of two guards of the Special Purpose Detachment "Pantera".
He is also investigated in the Russian Federation, being accused of illegally taking 48 billion rubles out of the country through the "Laundromat" scheme.
