By Sam Tobin
LONDON (Reuters) – Moldovan businessman Veaceslav Platon, who is wanted in his home country over an alleged $22 billion money laundering conspiracy, on Friday lost a bid to be released on bail in Britain ahead of his fight against extradition.
Platon, 52, was arrested in London last week after an extradition request by Moldova, which accuses him of organising a conspiracy to move vast sums of money out of Russia between 2010 and 2014.
He appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, when he applied for bail pending a full hearing of Moldova’s extradition request.
His lawyer Peter Caldwell said Platon, who he described as “effectively a dissident”, had applied for asylum in Britain as a result of his treatment in custody in Moldova after he was last detained in the country from 2016.
Platon was jailed in Moldova in 2017 for money laundering and Caldwell referred to a 2018 U.S. State Department report which said Platon attended a meeting visibly bruised, adding: “He has a well-founded fear of persecution.”
Caldwell also said Platon, who previously held Ukrainian citizenship, “provided immense support as a banker to Ukraine” in its sanctions response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
He argued it was “no coincidence” that Moldova’s extradition request was issued in April 2022, adding that Platon was separately convicted in his absence in Russia in 2023. Canada has also imposed sanctions on Platon.
Catherine Brown, a lawyer representing the Moldovan authorities, said Platon should not be bailed given the risk he could flee Britain and the seriousness of the allegations.
“Between 2010 and 2014, he was the organiser and leader of a criminal organisation who conspired to make illegal transfers of funds amounting to an estimated $22 billion,” she said.
Brown said Platon has “the financial means and criminal links to abscond”, adding that he is alleged to have “personal knowledge and influence over national judges in Moldova”.
Judge Joanna Matson refused to grant Platon bail, saying Platon’s claim that the case against him was politically motivated was not an issue she could rule upon at Friday’s hearing.
Platon blew kisses to his supporters in the public gallery before he was led out of the dock and back down to the cells.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
