Exclusiv Media, Holding Company of NTV Moldova, under the Prosecutors’ Spotlight for Two Years: Lawmakers Wait for Documents from Switzerland

 Since July 2016, APO prosecutors have kept a close watch on LTD Exclusive Media company, founded by Corneliu Furculita, Member of Parliament from PSRM. Company owns the NTV television broadcaster and ‘Argumenty i Fakty’ (‘Arguments and facts’) newspaper. Previously, the company was mentioned in an investigation of RISE Moldova. It is involved in a criminal case regarding money-laundering on an especially large scale. The case is at the stage of criminal prosecution for more than two years, in the meantime prosecutors send requests for rogatory commissions in Switzerland.

As Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (APO) answered to Media-azi.md portal, law officers currently investigate and examine the case circumstances under all aspects. ‘The mentioned criminal case is at the stage of criminal prosecution, requests for rogatory commissions were sent (...). At this stage, we can not provide you other information in order not to impede the conduct of the investigation’, was said in the same answer.
Employees of the National Anti-Corruption Center (NAC) have not provided new details, referring to the confidentiality of the criminal prosecution, observation of the presumption of innocence and proper conduct of the investigation.
After a repeated request, Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office provided some additional information. ‘Rogatory letters were sent to the competent Swiss authorities to obtain information on transactions made by the companies registered in the respective country which are related to this case. To solve APO request, Swiss authorities asked for additional documents, which I have sent. Currently, we wait for the answers to requests sent abroad’ said the APO’s spokesperson, Anastasia Mihalceanu.

What representatives of Exclusiv Media say

Member of the Parliament Corneliu Furculita, from the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova is the founder of Exclusiv Media company and 100% shareholder, and Petru Burduja is the director. Through this company, Corneliu Furculita holds the NTV Moldova television broadcaster and ‘Argumenty i fakty’ (‘Arguments and Facts’) newspaper.
Contacted by Media-azi.md, Corneliu Furculita told us that we must address all questions in this regard to the PSRM Press Service. In his turn, Petru Burduja refused to give us information by the phone.

‘Money from the Bahamas’
RISE Moldova wrote about an offshore transaction with the involvement of Exclusiv Media back in September 2016. According to the investigation, over MDL 30 million were transferred through this company. The money entered Moldova a few months before the Presidential elections (30 October 2016). The transfer came through an off-shore company connected to the Russian Federation and created in one of the tax havens - the Bahamas.
Subsequently, journalists were brought to court by both PSRM and the company founded by Corneliu Furculita.

Exclusiv Media versus RISE Moldova
After the investigation about the money from the Bahamas appeared, Corneliu Furculita said that all transactions of the companies concerned in the article were conducted under national and international law. He added that NAC requested all the documents related to this transaction and received them for verification. ‘These are transactions intended solely for the entrepreneurial activities’, Furculita wrote on his Facebook page on 28 September 2016.
On 4 November 2016, representatives of PSRM and Exclusiv Media sued RISE Moldova for defaimation and demanded denials to be published.
On 22 February 2017, District Commercial Court partially upheld the action filed by Exclusiv Media against RISE Moldova and author of the investigation.
On 2 March 2017, RISE Moldova challenged the decision of the court of first instance by appeal, requesting its cassation and rejection of the summons.
On 31 May 2018, judges of the Court of Appeal cancelled decision of the court of first instance, the case was returned for retrial to the Chisinau District Court. Collegium for Civil Cases of the Court of Appeal found that Exclusiv Media wrongfully filed an action with the District Commercial Court for the defamation case, or it had to be examined by a common law court, thus, the principle of professional competence was violated.

Lawyer Vitalie Zama who guards interests of RISE Moldova, mentioned that rehearing of case will take place on 20 November 2018.  
On 21 December 2017, in another action, Chisinau District Court, Center Office partially upheld the summon of PSRM to appear before court. The claim on compensation of non-pecuniary damages was dismissed as insubstantial, and the Court compelled RISE Moldova to publish a denial. The journalists appealed the decision delivered in favour of the PSRM at the Court of Appeal and on 18 April 2018 the judges dismissed the appeal. Subsequently, SCJ also dismissed appeal of the RISE Moldova.