Ex-Soviet state gives opposition politician 19-year jail term

A Moldovan court sentenced business tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc in a $1 billion bank fraud case

A Moldovan court has sentenced businessman and opposition politician Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 years in prison in a high-profile bank fraud case.

The charges are related to a 2014 bank scandal in which $1 billion was siphoned from three of the largest financial institutions in the country. Plahotniuc stood accused of receiving only a fraction of the money, namely $39 million and €3.5 million ($4.1 million) from the affected banks.  

The politician fled the country in 2019 after his Democratic Party lost the elections and has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the case against him is politically motivated. He was arrested in Greece in July last year and promptly extradited to Moldova to face trial. Plahotniuc requested to be sent to Moldova rather than to Russia, where he has been wanted since 2017 over a failed assassination attempt on a banker.

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Plahotniuc’s lawyer said the procedure against his client was rushed and the verdict illegal. The ruling can be appealed within a two-week period, yet it was not immediately clear whether his legal team will do so.  

The 2014 bank fraud affair, locally known as the “heist of the century,” sent shockwaves through the political landscape of the ex-Soviet nation, implicating many high-profile figures. Former Moldovan Prime Minister and founder of the Democratic Party, Vlad Filat, was sentenced to nine years for corruption and influence peddling in 2016, but was released on parole in 2019. Filat has maintained his innocence, repeatedly accusing his former ally Plahotniuc of fabricating the case against him.  

Another opposition politician and businessman, Ilan Shor, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in 2023 over his role in the bank fraud. Shor fled the country in 2019 and has remained abroad ever since, first taking refuge in Israel and ultimately moving to Russia, where he was granted citizenship. The businessman has long maintained his innocence as well, insisting the charges against him are politically motivated.