Moldova Sentences Oligarch Plahotniuc To 19 Years In Prison

• 22.04.2026, 14:58

On the "stealing a billion" case.

Moldovan oligarch and former leader of the Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc has been sentenced to 19 years in prison in the case of "stealing a billion".

This is reported by Newsmaker.

The Chisinau court in the Buiucani district on April 22 passed a verdict in the Plahotniuc case. He was found guilty of complicity in the theft of a billion from three Moldovan banks and sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Investigators say Plahotniuc received $39 million and 3.5 million euros of the stolen funds through companies controlled by fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor.

Plahotniuc did not appear at the announcement of the verdict.

Prosecutors earlier requested for Plahotniuc the maximum punishment under the articles of charges - 25 years of imprisonment.

We recall that Plahotniuc was extradited from Greece to Chisinau on September 25, 2025, since then he has been under arrest in prison No. 13.

Before losing power and fleeing Moldova in 2019, Vlad Plahotniuc had a great influence on the life of the country, because of which he was sometimes called "the master of Moldova."