Policy paper

MOU between UK and Moldova on the return of funds forfeited by the National Crime Agency in relation to Luca Filat

Published 22 September 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

This Memorandum of Understanding relates to the return of funds (“the Returned Funds”) forfeited by order of the magistrates court dated 14 November 2019 from Luca Filat.

1. This Memorandum of Understanding does not constitute an international treaty under the international public law and Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties (1969) and does not produce legally-binding commitments for the parties.

2. The Returned Funds total £456,068.38, the full amount which will be returned to the Republic of Moldova to fund social assistance that will benefit vulnerable people in Moldova.

Use of returned funds

3. The Government of the Republic of Moldova and the UK Government have decided that the Returned Funds will be used to support social assistance. The Returned Funds will finance additional personnel of the Personal Assistant social service included in the minimum social package (“the Service”), which is financed by the National Agency for Social Assistance, a subordinate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The Returned Funds will be transferred from the UK Government to the National Agency for Social Assistance, which will manage the Returned Funds throughout the life of the project, under the terms of Government Decision No 800/2018 approving the minimum package of social services and amending the Regulation on how to establish and pay material aid.

4. The Returned Funds will be used to benefit people with severe disabilities. Local authorities will hire full-time personal assistants whose role is to provide support with all daily tasks, from personal hygiene to running the household. The Returned Funds will provide funding for approximately 566 ^{[footnote 1]} personal assistants for a period of four months.

5. During the period of implementation and within the framework of this project no additional costs, other than those mentioned in this Memorandum of Understanding, will be accepted.

6. None of the Returned Funds may be disbursed, expended or used for the benefit of any of the alleged perpetrators of, or participants in the offences (passive corruption and trafficking of influence committed by Vladimir Filat) giving rise to the recovery of the Returned Funds, including as appropriate: family members, heirs, assignees, successors, privies, corporations, trusts, or legal entities of such alleged perpetrators or participants; or any person or entity barred from contracting with any party or international financial institution or from otherwise undertaking projects in Moldova.

Transparency and accountability

7. The Government of the Republic of Moldova has appointed Keystone Moldova, a civil society organisation, which will monitor and evaluate the expenditure of the Returned Funds and will ensure that the Returned Funds are fully put towards the intended use of the Service.

8. Keystone Moldova will monitor and evaluate the use of the Returned Funds and, the process of delivering the Service, including the applications for personal assistants to ensure that the most urgent needs are met, and that assistants are allocated in a transparent way.

9. Keystone Moldova will provide three intermediate monitoring reports (“Monitoring Reports”) during the period of the Service (from the MOU being signed until 31 May 2022). These Monitoring Reports will be provided to the Governments of Moldova and the United Kingdom within one month of completion.

10. The costs of monitoring the project will not be provided by the Moldovan National Agency for Social Assistance.

11. Within one month of the conclusion of the project (31 March 2022), a final report (“the Final Report”) will be provided by the Government of the Republic of Moldova to the UK Government, setting out the use of the Returned Funds.

12. By 30 April 2022 Keystone Moldova will provide a final report (“the Final Monitoring Report”) to both the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the UK Government setting out their findings throughout the monitoring period, including their review of the Final Report.

13. Both the Final Report (from the Government of the Republic of Moldova) and the Final Monitoring Report (from Keystone Moldova) will be made available on the websites of the Governments of Moldova and the UK.

14. The Government of the Republic of Moldova and the UK Government will be given a further three months (until 31 July) to raise any further business. ^{[footnote 2]}

Anti-corruption statement

15. The Government of the Republic of Moldova and the UK Government will collaborate in a commitment to ensure that no offer, donation, payment, remuneration or advantage in any form whatsoever that may be considered as an illicit act or a form of corruption, has been or will be granted to anyone, directly or indirectly, with the aim of obtaining a benefit in relation to projects or the Returned Funds.

16. The Government of the Republic of Moldova will inform the UK Government immediately in the event that any credible allegation or other indication of fraud or corruption in connection with the project, the Returned Funds or this Memorandum of Understanding comes to its attention.

17. The Government of the Republic of Moldova will:

(a) take timely and appropriate action to investigate such allegations or other indications, commencing an investigation within thirty days of any credible allegation being received;

(b) report promptly and regularly to the UK Government on the progress of such investigations and, promptly after their conclusion, report to the UK Government the actions that the Government of the Republic of Moldova takes in response to the findings; and

(c) in the event that the investigation substantiates that fraud or corruption has occurred, promptly reimburse the National Agency for Social Assistance in full for any funds that may have been lost, misappropriated or inappropriately disbursed, expended or used, and take such other action as may be necessary or appropriate to remedy the damage caused by the fraudulent or corrupt act(s).

18. The Government of the Republic of Moldova will ensure that the National Agency for Social Assistance financing the service in according to the Government Decision No 800/2018. Contact details

19. Contact details for the Government of the Republic of Moldova:

Ministry of Labour and Social Protection
2 Vasile Alecsandri Street
Chisinau

secretariat@msmps.gov.md

20. Contact details for the UK Government:

Criminal Finances Unit
6th Floor, Peel Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

International-assetrecovery@homeoffice.gov.uk

Commencement of operation and signature

21. This Memorandum will come into effect on signature and will continue in operation until 30 April 2022. The Memorandum may be extended by a decision taken by the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Government of the United Kingdom.

22. The foregoing record represents the understandings reached between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Moldova upon the matters referred to therein.

23. This Memorandum is signed in duplicate in the English and Romanian languages, both texts having equal validity.

Steven Mark Fisher, HM Ambassador to Moldova

For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Marcel Spatari, Minister of Labour and Social Protection

For the Government of the Republic of Moldova

Signed at the British Embassy, Chisinau on the 21st day of September, 2021

1. This figure is subject to change and the Government of Moldova will publish the final numbers when they are available. ↩

2. The UK Government will publish the reports on GOV.UK. ↩