A Moldovan oligarch and ex-opposition leader gets a 19-year sentence in a $1 billion bank fraud case

NewsWorldEuropeA Moldovan oligarch and ex-opposition leader gets a 19-year sentence in a $1 billion bank fraud caseA Moldovan oligarch and former opposition leader has been sentenced to 19 years in a fraud case in which a billion dollars stolen from banks in the country more than a decade agoStephen McGrath & Aurel ObrejaWednesday 22 April 2026 18:57 BSTBookmarkBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":false,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"cd96eab3d0dc625534d7c2cf1ab00df8","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-plahotniuc-chisinau-united-kingdom-gdp-united-states-b2962994.html","title":"A Moldovan oligarch and ex-opposition leader gets a 19-year sentence in a $1 billion bank fraud case"}}Moldova Oligarch (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.p...