Ion Sturza
In a social media post, Sturza recalled the warnings he had issued back in 2016, when he said that the struggle between influential groups and conflicts of interest among the oligarchs could have serious consequences for the Republic of Moldova.
In his view, the theft of a billion was only the beginning of a crisis whose effects the country is still feeling today.
“They stole a billion. How useful that money would be today, when we need 6.5 billion lei just to raise salaries in September. Instead, the government is paying off the National Bank’s ‘loan,’ which was also stolen—the infamous Liancă guarantees,” wrote Ion Sturza.
The former prime minister believes that one of the most complex legacies of that period remains the uncertain legal situation surrounding a number of the country’s major banks following the change in ownership structure in 2018–2019. Together, they account for nearly 70% of the banking system’s assets.
He asserts that investors who later entered into these deals were counting on the guarantees and commitments provided by the authorities at the time; however, subsequent legal problems effectively blocked the possibility of fully realizing their investments.
In his statement, Ion Sturza also criticized the fact that, in his view, responsibility for the events of that period was placed primarily on one person, while other political and economic actors remained outside the public spotlight.
“We are still paying the economic, social, and moral costs today. Only Plaha ended up in prison, and everyone conveniently turned him into the main culprit for all the troubles. But what about the rest?” the former prime minister noted.
At the same time, Sturza noted that the Republic of Moldova demonstrated resilience and did not collapse after the banking crisis, but continued to “move forward.”
As a reminder, last October marked the 10th anniversary of the revocation of licenses for the three banking institutions involved in the “theft of a billion”, but this time has not been sufficient to recover the stolen funds. About 3 billion lei were recovered through emergency loans, but the remaining debt exceeded 11 billion lei as of the end of last year.
