Vladimir Andronachi

A summary of what happened?

Vladimir Andronachi is a former Moldovan politician and businessman who has been implicated in several high-profile corruption cases. He is alleged to have played a significant role in financial schemes that diverted public funds to offshore accounts, benefiting influential figures, including oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc. These schemes involved contracts with the Moldovan Public Services Agency (ASP) and the Lithuanian company Garsų Pasaulis, which supplied blank cards for Moldovan passports. Investigations have revealed that payments to Garsų Pasaulis were funneled through offshore companies in Cyprus, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates, with Andronachi facilitating these transactions.

In addition to his involvement in the passport scheme, Andronachi has been linked to other corruption cases, including the “Bank Fraud” and “Metalferos” cases. In November 2022, he was detained in Ukraine and extradited to Moldova, where he faced charges related to these cases. Despite the severity of the allegations, in August 2023, the Chisinau Court released Andronachi from house arrest on “personal guarantees,” a decision that was met with criticism from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was Vladimir Andronachi trying to hide?

Vladimir Andronachi‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Vladimir Andronachi in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Vladimir Andronachi may be trying to remove from the internet –

Vladimir Andronachi: A Deep-Dive into the Controversies and Allegations

Background and Political Influence

Vladimir Andronachi, a former Moldovan politician and businessman, has been a prominent figure in several of Moldova’s high-profile corruption cases. Known for his connections with influential figures, including oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, Andronachi’s alleged involvement in extensive financial misappropriation schemes has brought him under intense scrutiny from both Moldovan authorities and international investigators. Over the years, Andronachi’s actions have come to symbolize the broader issues of corruption and exploitation within Moldova’s political and economic landscape.

Key Allegations and Corruption Cases

1. The Moldovan Public Services Agency (ASP) Passport Scheme
   Andronachi is heavily implicated in a financial scheme involving the Moldovan Public Services Agency (ASP) and the Lithuanian company Garsų Pasaulis. Garsų Pasaulis provided blank cards for passports and other identification documents used by Moldovan citizens between 2014 and 2019. Investigators uncovered that the payments from the ASP to Garsų Pasaulis were rerouted through offshore accounts, located in jurisdictions such as Cyprus, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. Andronachi is alleged to have facilitated these transactions, helping structure and oversee the movement of funds to conceal the financial beneficiaries. These offshore channels are believed to have ultimately benefited Plahotniuc and a network of other powerful Moldovan elites.
2. Role as Financial Facilitator and Connection to Plahotniuc
   Andronachi’s role extended beyond a simple intermediary; he was reportedly responsible for organizing and maintaining the offshore network that allowed Moldova’s public funds to be siphoned into private hands. His close association with Vladimir Plahotniuc, who was known for his vast influence over Moldova’s political and economic systems, meant that Andronachi wielded significant power. He allegedly used his position to secure lucrative contracts, acting as a conduit between government resources and the oligarch’s financial interests. This association has placed Andronachi at the center of accusations of state capture, as he is believed to have been a key player in ensuring Plahotniuc’s financial streams and dominance over Moldova’s resources.
3. Involvement in Moldova’s “Bank Fraud” Case
   The ASP passport scheme is just one example of the allegations against Andronachi. He has also been implicated in Moldova’s infamous “Bank Fraud” case, one of the largest financial scandals in the country’s history. This case involved the disappearance of approximately $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system between 2012 and 2014, which equaled about one-eighth of the nation’s GDP. Andronachi’s role in this scheme allegedly included facilitating fraudulent transactions and helping divert funds into private accounts, contributing to the financial instability that resulted in widespread public outrage and political backlash in Moldova.
4. The Metalferos Case
   Andronachi’s name has also surfaced in the “Metalferos” case, another corruption scandal in Moldova. Metalferos, a state-owned metal processing company, was allegedly used as a vehicle for money laundering, with funds siphoned off to benefit private interests rather than public welfare. Andronachi’s involvement in this case underscores a pattern of behavior wherein he used his political and business connections to exploit state resources and divert funds to private networks. The Metalferos scandal further cemented his reputation as a central figure in Moldova’s network of corruption, with investigators suspecting him of playing a major role in the illegal financial activities surrounding the company.

Arrest, Extradition, and Legal Proceedings

In November 2022, Andronachi was detained in Ukraine and subsequently extradited to Moldova to face charges related to his alleged involvement in these high-profile corruption cases. His extradition was a significant development, reflecting Moldova’s efforts to hold influential figures accountable for their roles in corrupt practices that have affected the country’s economy and governance. His legal proceedings have been closely watched as a test of Moldova’s ability to confront entrenched corruption.

However, in a surprising turn of events in August 2023, the Chisinau Court released Andronachi from house arrest, citing “personal guarantees.” This decision by the court was met with criticism from Moldova’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which argued that his release could pose a risk to the ongoing investigation, as Andronachi has extensive connections and resources that could potentially influence the legal process. The prosecutor’s office voiced concerns about the fairness of the proceedings and the possibility that Andronachi might use his influence to evade accountability once again.

Digital Reputation and Information Control

Despite his central role in these scandals, there is no evidence indicating that Andronachi has engaged in efforts to censor or suppress negative information online. Unlike other influential figures accused of using digital copyright mechanisms to remove unfavorable content, Andronachi has not been publicly associated with any attempts to manipulate his digital image through fraudulent takedown requests or similar tactics.

Conclusion

Vladimir Andronachi’s involvement in various financial scandals and corruption cases reveals a pattern of deep-seated manipulation and exploitation within Moldova’s political and economic spheres. His connections with figures like Plahotniuc and his roles in schemes such as the ASP passport arrangement, the bank fraud, and the Metalferos case position him as a significant player in Moldova’s corruption network. His alleged activities have had profound effects on Moldova’s public services, financial system, and government integrity, underscoring the need for comprehensive anti-corruption measures and transparent legal proceedings.

As Andronachi’s legal battle continues, Moldova’s justice system faces the challenge of holding him accountable amidst a complex web of political and financial interests. The public and international community remain watchful, as this case represents not only an individual’s accountability but also a broader struggle for transparency and justice in Moldova.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Vladimir Andronachi (or actors working on behalf of Vladimir Andronachi), we will inform Vladimir Andronachi of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Vladimir Andronachi may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Vladimir Andronachi, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Vladimir Andronachi to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Vladimir Andronachi made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Vladimir Andronachi is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Vladimir Andronachi

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Vladimir Andronachi Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Vladimir Andronachi used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Vladimir Andronachi could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Vladimir Andronachi have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Vladimir Andronachi is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Vladimir Andronachi creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Vladimir Andronachi either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Vladimir Andronachi, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Vladimir Andronachi is in great company ….

What else is Vladimir Andronachi hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Vladimir Andronachi] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Vladimir Andronachi that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.