A court in Chisinau has sentenced billionaire Vladimir Plahotniuc, former leader of Moldova’s Democratic Party, to 19 years in prison, NewsMaker.md reports. Plahotniuc was found guilty of bank fraud, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering, with the prosecution requesting a 25-year prison sentence.
“Vladimir Plahotniuc’s defense team categorically rejects today’s sentence and views it as profoundly unlawful, clearly unjustified, and incompatible with the minimal standards of fair court proceedings,” defense attorney Lucian Rogac commented.
Plahotniuc’s defense intends to appeal the sentence. Meanwhile, investigations connected with three additional criminal cases against Plahotniuc are ongoing.
Plahotniuc was detained on Moldova’s request in Athens in July 2025 while trying to board a plane to Dubai. This past September, Greek authorities extradited him to Chisinau. At home, the oligarch faced charges of embezzling $1 billion from the national banking system and of laundering $20 billion of corrupt Russian cash through the so-called “Moldovan laundromat.” This scheme of laundering criminal proceeds involved banks in Russia, Moldova, and the Baltic states and was used to funnel $22 billion into Russia via Moldovan government agencies controlled by Plahotniuc, who from December 2010 to February 2013 occupied the post of vice chair of the Moldovan parliament.
