Wiretaps incriminate Moldovan pro-EU leader

Phone conversations posted online on 20 October 2015 were said to show former Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat asking for bribes from a local businessman, who had been accused, along with Mr Filat, of involvement in the theft of $1 billion from three banks.

The former prime minister had been detained by police on 15 October 2015 over a possible connection to the fraud which brought the banking system close to collapse and brought thousands into the centre of the capital Chisinau, camping in protests for weeks.

The Moldovan parliament backed a no-confidence vote in the government of Prime Minister Valeriu Strelet on the 29 October 2015. The dismissal came on the heels of massive bribe and corruption allegations against the pro-EU government.

ESO: Background information: The ‘billion dollar protests’ in Moldova are threatening the survival of the country’s political elite http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-billion-dollar-protests-in-moldova-are-threatening-the-survival-of-the-countrys-political-elite/

ESO: Background information: Moldova banking scandal fuels biggest protest ever http://www.europeansources.info/record/moldova-banking-scandal-fuels-biggest-protest-ever/

BBC News, 19.10.15: Moldova ex-PM Vlad Filat held over $1bn bank scam http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34569887

Interfax, 19.10.15: Moldova's ex-prime minister Filat remanded in custody for one month http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/297090.html

Tass, 19.10.15: Classified materials found in search at Moldovan ex-premier’s home http://tass.ru/en/world/830024

Sputnik International, 18.10.15: Moldovan Court Considers Extending Detention for Pro-EU Leader Over Fraud http://sptnkne.ws/Wgm

Deutsche Welle, 29.10.15: Moldova's parliament dismisses pro-EU government amid corruption scandal http://dw.com/p/1Gwap

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