The Parliament of Moldova appointed Romanian citizen Anca Draga, who previously headed the Romanian Senate, as head of the National Bank.
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The Parliament of Moldova on Thursday dismissed the head of the National Bank, Octavian Armasha, explaining that he did not ensure the effectiveness of the department’s cooperation with investigative authorities in the investigation of the withdrawal of a billion dollars from the country’s banking system. On Friday, Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu announced that he intends to nominate Dragu for the vacated seat.
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“This candidacy complies with all legislative norms of Moldova, 58 deputies voted for Dragu. Thank you, colleagues,” Grosu said following the voting results.
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The parliamentary meeting is broadcast live on social networks.
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Earlier on Thursday, President Maia Sandu granted Dragu citizenship of Moldova; the corresponding decree was published on the website of the head of the republic shortly before the vote in parliament.
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In 2014, three banks – Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank, which own almost a third of the country’s banking assets – withdrew about a billion dollars from Moldova. In 2015, the National Bank issued loans to banks under government guarantees to compensate for losses.
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In April 2023, Sandu reported that the judges of the appeal chamber sentenced businessman Ilan Shor to 15 years in prison in the case of withdrawing $1 billion from banks; his assets would be confiscated. Shor himself called the judges’ decision “lawless and lawless” and said that he did not intend to obey it.
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According to the politician, the criminal case against him was fabricated and is of a political nature. Shor accused the central authorities of Moldova of covering up for a number of officials involved in the theft of a billion and who are now in the country’s leadership.
