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PSRM sued PRO TV Chisinau for the show about the “Bahamas” case

11 September 2020
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The Party of Socialists (PSRM) sued the station PRO TV Chisinau and the journalist Lorena Bogza, who allegedly made defamatory statements during a show in April, in the absence of a court decision, writes protv.md. In the television studio, they discussed the case of the alleged money laundering in the Bahamas through some exponents of the PSRM. PRO TV considers that there is no legal ground for the station to be sued and sees this action as an attempt to intimidation before the electoral campaign.

In the April 30 edition of the talk show In Profunzime [In Depth] they discussed the criminal case initiated in 2016 for the laundering of 1.5 million euros in the Bahamas through the company Exclusiv Media, owned by the Socialist Corneliu Furculita. The scheme came to public attention in September of that year, after RISE Moldova reporters published their investigation, “Dodon’s money from the Bahamas.” In March 2020, the MP Iurie Renita posted on Facebook a copy of the contract that allegedly proved a loan between the offshore company and Furculita’s company.

At the show in question, Lorena Bogza tried to find out the course of the money transferred through Exclusiv Media. “We know that you started, with documents, to see the course of the money that came from the Bahamas in 2016 for the Party of Socialists. Let’s not forget that 2016 was an electoral year, when President Igor Dodon became president,” said the host at the beginning of the presentation of the subject.

“If it is proven that this illegal money was used for the presidential campaign and President Dodon won, what happens?” Lorena Bogza added.

According to Pro TV, PSRM called these comments defamatory, a “deliberate violation of the presumption of innocence,” given that “there is no decision allowing the information to be disseminated unambiguously and clearly, the public being misled as to the veracity and irrevocability of the things exposed in the show.”

The PSRM’s case against Pro TV was registered on June 24, 2020 at the Chisinau Court, and has the status of examination through mediation. PSRM representatives refused to talk to Pro TV reporters on the subject. The station believes that the PSRM’s action is an attempt to intimidate before the presidential elections. “We believe that there is no legal ground for our station to be sued,” says the station’s statement.

Recently, the Prosecutor General Alexandru Stoianoglo mentioned in the talk show “Politica Nataliei Morari” [Politics of Natalia Morari] on TV8 that 29 people were interrogated in the case, including Socialist MPs Corneliu Furculita, Vladimir Odnostalco, and Vasile Bolea. “This case is about money laundering, it is not about illegal financing. We asked for the opinion of the National Integrity Authority on this case and gathered information. We also sent a request to Switzerland, and we will issue a decision upon its receipt,” Stoianoglo said.

After the investigation of the money in the Bahamas was published, Corneliu Furculita said that all the transactions of the companies referred to in the article took place in accordance with national and international legislation.

Foto: PRO TV