Battle of words between the General Prosecutor’s Office and the lawyer of Oleg Pruteanu, alias Borman. It happened after on Thursday the defender Ala Raevschi requested the démenti of a communiqué released by the institution that, in her opinion, did not respect the benefit of the doubt in address to her client.

Today, surprisingly, on the website of the General Prosectuor’s Office appeared another large communiqué that contains information on the files in which appeared Oleg Pruteanu, and the fact that the fortune of his lawyer, Ala Raevschi, who is also Proteanu’s mother-in-law, was on the spot of the National Anticorruption Center.

On 25 September, the General Prosecutor’s Office published on its website a communiqué that announced that the file in which appears the name of Oleg Pruteanu was taken over by the authorities of the Russian Federation.

The communiqué comprises several labellings of Oleg Pruteanu, who is nicknamed “Borman” and “the leader of a transnational criminal organization”.

Following that, the lawyer Ala Raevschi sent a letter to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases requesting the démenti of the published information, as her client was being placed into custody for over two years, without a sentence. Raevschi also spoke about this in a press conference.

“The goal of this post is to misinform the public opinion and to have an indirect influence on the judicial authorities, aiming at illegally keeping Oleg Pruteanu under arrest, which is taking place for more than two years now, violating in the most flagrant way the criminal legislation. We are talking about the benefit of the doubt!” said Oleg Pruteanu’s lawyer.

In reply, the General Prosecutor’s Office published a communiqué with information on the files that involves Oleg Pruteanu, and also information on the fortune of his mother-in-law. Lawyer Raevschi states that:

 

“They intimidated me, scared me, attacked me with criminal files. Now they try to show… what I have. The expenses of the mother-in-law of Pruteanu, alias Borman. Ok, people. Two years have passed. Why haven’t you done any investigation until now? But of course they know why they haven’t done any investigation until now. That is because I own only one apartment,” said Ala Raevschi, lawyer of Oleg Pruteanu.

Moreover, Ala Raevschi states that several people are being pressed by the law enforcement structures and obliged to give testimonies against Oleg Pruteanu.

“Pruteanu has been restricted from all his rights, including to defence, and we can prove this. He has been tortured. He has been placed in the basement of the Prison no. 13, alone in the cell,” said Ala Raevschi, lawyer of Oleg Pruteanu.
Furthermore, Raevschi states that in June, after the change of power in Chisinau, she has been surprised by the announcement of the Moscow authorities about the fact that the former Democrat leader Vlad Plahotniuc would be involved in a file of drug trafficking.

“It was something for me to find out that Plahotniuc had files for drugs… I didn’t know about this. On the same day, Pruteanu’s arrest was going to be extended. This judge says that he extended it. He told me: You don’t know everything…,” mentioned Ala Raevschi, Pruteanu’s lawyer.

Oleg Pruteanu, known in the underworld as “Borman”, was released last Friday from the Prison no. 13 from the capital, but only for few minutes. National Investigation Inspectorate’s employers, who were waiting for him at the door of the prison, informed him about the restraining order issued by the prosecutors and handcuffed him.

Oleg Pruteanu stated for our TV channel that he was expecting such a turn of events, as he has been constrained in prison to give false testimony against some people in order to be released. He, however, didn’t do it.

“-What did they ask you to do now?

-To give testimony.

-Against whom?

-Other people. I was threatened that I will be liquidated. That my wife and my family will be arrested if I don’t give names,” said the defendant Oleg Pruteanu.

Borman’s lawyer, who attended the events, told us that he was forced to give false testimony against the former PDM leader, Vlad Plahotniuc.

“-He has to speak against Plahot…

-Against whom?

-Do you want me to tell you straightforwardly?

-Yes.

-Against Plahotniuc,” said Ala Raevschi, Oleg Pruteanu’s lawyer.

In October 2017, Oleg Pruteanu alias “Borman” and three members of his group were handcuffed. According to the prosecutors of the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases, the scheme he led would have transported hashish from Europe to Russia. It would have illegally imported over 650 kg of drugs and would have obtained a profit of over one million EUR. In June 2018, the prosecutors of the Special Cases and the officers of the National Investigation Inspectorate announced that the members of the criminal group led by Oleg Pruteau sold drugs in Russia under the protection of Grigore Caramalac, known in the underworld by his nickname Bulgaru, who is living in Russia.

Several political analysts consider that the reasons much more acute lately to influence the evolution of the investigation in the major files, including of Oleg Pruteanu, are a common game of Russia and the Chisinau government, which try this way to take revenge on Vlad Plahotniuc for his political stance.

In the meantime, on Friday, RIA Novosti wrote that Interpol took the decision to refuse Moscow’s request to put Vlad Plahotniuc under international search due to neutrality criteria.