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3w ago

Moldovan Court Sentences Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 Years in $1 Billion Bank Fraud Case

The conviction caps a yearslong case over a bank heist that rattled Moldova's economy.

FILE - Vladimir Plahotniuc, a Moldovan oligarch, is escorted by police, after being extradited from Greece, at the Eugen Doga International Airport in Chisinau, Moldova, on Sept. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)
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Overview

  • A Moldovan court gave former political powerbroker Vladimir Plahotniuc a 19-year prison term in the banking fraud case, and the decision can be appealed within 15 days.
  • Plahotniuc was not in the courtroom and has denied wrongdoing, with his lawyer calling the verdict illegal and rushed.
  • Prosecutors say he personally took $39 million and €3.5 million and spent stolen funds on an Embraer Legacy 650 jet and property.
  • He fled Moldova in 2019 after losing power, was charged in 2020, arrested at Athens airport in July 2025, and extradited to Chisinau in September 2025.
  • The 2014–2015 scheme drained about 12% of Moldova’s GDP and set off protests and aid freezes, with earlier fallout including a prime minister’s jailing and the central bank chief’s dismissal.