A businessman detained in Ukraine, Veaceslav Platon, has been extradited to Moldova and transferred to Chisinau on Monday late in the evening, according to Moldova’s Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO).

Platon was accused of large-scale embezzlement, bank theft and money-laundering charges upon his arrival there.

Chisinau’s Buiucani district court is reviewing a petition filed by prosecutors to remand him to pretrial confinement for 30 days.

Platon was arrested in Kyiv on July 25 hours after Moldova’s PGO put him on the international wanted list. An order for his arrest was given following a search of several banks and companies, during which prosecutors seized documents allegedly implicating Platon in the theft of EUR1 billion from Moldova’s banking system, as well as laundering more than $20 billion from Russian banks via Moldova.

Platon’s lawyers have said their client is in danger in Moldova. They attempted to prevent his extradition. Russian lawyer Ilya Novikov joined Platon’s team lawyers on Monday in the effort to prevent his extradition, but he was extradited nonetheless pursuant to a court order handed down by Kyiv’s Pechersk District Court last week.

Interfax Ukraine

30 August, 2016