Former Moldovan Defense Minister Valeriu Pasat went on trial in Chisinau on 27 June on charges of defrauding the state in connection with the sale of 21 jet fighters to the United States in 1997. Pasat, currently an advisor to Russia's Unified Energy Systems, is accused of having sold 21 MiG-29s for $40 million, which according to the Moldovan Prosecutor-General's Office inflicted a loss of $54 million on the state. The judge agreed to the prosecutors'demand to conduct the proceedings behind closed doors on the account that issues of national security were at stake.
