The Greek authorities have extradited Oligarch and former politician Vladimir Plahotniuc, who was fleeing for six years, to his native Moldova. Moldavian media report this on Thursday.
The 59-year-old Plahotniuc is suspected of fraud, money laundering, participation in a criminal organization, abuse of power and forgery. In his home country he is best known for the greatest fraud case in Moldavian history. According to the judiciary, Plahotniuc, together with Herklangers, set up complex loan constructions to lock money away. Due to this ‘Roof of the century’, the three national banks lost nearly a billion dollars in 2014 – at the time about 15 percent of the Moldovan GDP. To save the banks, the Moldavian government granted substantial state aid, so that the country ended up in a financial recession that lasted for years.
After the robbery, between 2016 and 2019, Plahotniuc became a heavyweight in Moldavian politics as a leader of coalition party PDM. In that role, among other things, he brewed freedom of the press. Because his party was not part of the next cabinet, he fled.
By diving into 22 different countries and using 16 different false passports, he managed to stay out of the hands of the police for years. The Greek police found the counterfeits in a villa south of Athens, and more than a ton of cash. The Oligarch was arrested by Europol last July at Athens airport with a forged Greek passport.
Moldavian elections
After Plahotniuc’s arrest, it took another two months until it was extradited. According to his lawyers, the timing is no coincidence: they accuse President Maia Sandu to explore the case politically in the run -up to the parliamentary elections of this weekend. Her pro-European party only denies that.
The Moldavian elections are, among other things, about whether or not to further rapprochement to the European Union. The country has been a candidate-law state since 2022. At the previous polls, only achieved an absolute majority, but now the party gets strong competition from the pro-Russian patriotic block (BEP) from former President Igor Dodon.
According to President Sandu, Moscow tries to influence the outcome by pumping “hundreds of millions of euros” in the country, to stimulate violence and spread disinformation. The BBC showed That Russia has actually spread fake news to influence the Moldavian elections.
On Friday, Plahotniuc will appear before the judge in Chičingan, as well as three former board members of the Moldovan Central Bank.
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