A Moldovan court sentenced Vladimir Plahotniuc, a prominent business magnate and former political powerbroker, to 19 years in prison for his involvement in a fraud case regarding the theft of $1 billion from the country’s banking sector. Plahotniuc was not present during the court proceedings and has consistently denied any wrongdoing, asserting his innocence and characterising the trial as politically motivated. On 22 July 2025, he was arrested in Athens, Greece, while attempting to board a flight to Dubai. This arrest was facilitated by information provided by Interpol’s office in Athens.
Plahotniuc was placed on Interpol’s wanted list in February 2025. He was arrested in Greece alongside Constantin Tutu, a former Member of Parliament from his Democratic Party, who Russia also wants for alleged drug trafficking. They intended to fly from Athens to Dubai.
On 23 July, Plahotniuc was remanded into custody for 40 days under the European Convention on Extradition. Despite promoting pro-European Union policies while in power, he faces allegations of undermining Moldova’s pro-EU trajectory and involvement in a $1 billion bank theft in 2014.
He fled Moldova in 2019 amid corruption allegations. After relocating to the United States, Plahotniuc was declared persona non grata in 2020, and in 2022, he was sanctioned by the US and the UK for corruption and election interference. The European Union also sanctioned him in 2023 for actions destabilising Moldova and Ukraine
. Reports indicate that Plahotniuc has changed locations frequently to evade detection. His arrest followed a Greek police investigation into his suspected ties to a criminal organisation. At the villa in Saronida where he and Tutu were hiding, authorities found approximately €155,000, 17 passports, mobile phones, and luxury watches. They also confiscated a Skoda Kodiaq vehicle used by Plahotniuc. During an airport check, Bulgarian travel documents and €2,670 in cash were discovered. Tutu had forged Romanian and Bulgarian papers.