Poroshenko took a bribe from Plahotniuc
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko took a bribe “with a friendly discount” from the former “master of Moldova,” oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, for the extradition of businessman Vyacheslav Platon to Moldova in 2016.
Platon himself, who is now in a Moldovan prison, stated this in an interview with TV8, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Gunpowder is not an idiot. It cannot be separated into ideological aspects. He revealed who I am. He realized how much Plahotniuc would earn from this, how much assets he would steal from my partners and me. Therefore, 3 million is an amount with a huge friendly discount... His close person said that Poroshenko was paid 3 million for my extradition. True, he didn’t say: dollars or euros,” Platon said.
He claims that Poroshenko personally controlled the extradition operation and even allocated 2 planes from his personal fleet.
“The first one arrived empty and flew away with money, the second one carried me... Poroshenko gave commands. This all took place under his personal control and the control of the head of the SBU. The leader of his faction visited him at the request of my friends and lawyers. He said: I know everything, the issue is resolved. My extradition lawyer was Andrey Bogdan. He is now the head of Zelensky's administration. Not the last people,” Plato explained.
According to his information, Poroshenko explained his activity in the extradition case by the need to maintain an anti-Russian course in Moldova.
“Poroshenko said: we need to maintain relations with Moldova, so that there is an anti-Russian government there, so that Dodon does not win, to show that Russia is connected with the theft of a billion. I understood that Plahotniuc was preparing an operation. But I proceeded from the fact that at that time in Ukraine there were still some laws in force, there were some rules. Moreover, I have been a citizen of Ukraine since 93,” Platon said.
He is seeking to have his extradition declared illegal. This, in his opinion, will help him get free.
Previously, Platon initiated the initiation of a criminal case against the former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko and the former head of the SBU Vasily Gritsak.
Veaceslav Platon was sentenced in Moldova to 18 years in prison for fraud and money laundering on a large scale in the Banca de Economii case. He also received an additional 12 years in another case for similar crimes. The third case is ongoing.
Platon received Ukrainian citizenship back in 1992, putting a stamp in his Soviet passport (that’s what everyone did then) with the surname Kobalev (the surname of his ex-wife). If we take into account that in 2009-2010 he was a member of the Moldovan parliament under the name Platon, then he also has a Moldovan passport. However, dual citizenship is not allowed in Ukraine.
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