Vlad Plahotniuc, once Moldova's richest man, has been sentenced to 19 years in prison in a bank fraud case known in the country as "the theft of the century." Plahotniuc was found guilty of involvement in the 2014-2015 fraud scheme that involved $1 billion, equivalent to 12% of Moldova's total GDP at the time.
He was personally accused of receiving over $40 million from the fraud scheme and ordered to pay around $60 million in compensation to the state. Plahotniuc, who denies any wrongdoing, was not present in court.
The BBC reports that the prosecutor's office argued there was evidence showing Plahotniuc used funds seized from banks for personal benefits: purchasing an Embraer Legacy 650 aircraft, buying properties, paying for legal, medical, and tourist services, and business investments.
The former oligarch was Moldova's wealthiest businessman and a prominent political figure when the "theft of the century" occurred. In 2014, loans worth $1 billion were transferred in just two days to a series of companies registered in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, whose owners were unknown.
The government was forced to intervene to save the banks, protecting depositors but creating a hole in public finances equivalent to one-eighth of Moldova's GDP. A later report revealed that most of the funds had ended up in companies owned by pro-Russian oligarch Ilan Shor.
Plahotniuc was not immediately charged with involvement. But in 2019, he faced corruption charges and left Moldova after his Democratic Party was ousted from power.
He spent six years in exile and was arrested in Athens in July 2025 while boarding a flight to Dubai, later being extradited back to Moldova.
On Wednesday, prosecutors said Plahotniuc had used his influence in public, political, financial, and criminal circles. Authorities added that to achieve this goal, Plahotniuc is suspected of facilitating Shor's entry into the shares of several commercial banks, leading to fraud.
Shor now lives in Moscow and was recently accused of being the mastermind of a pro-Russian scheme to buy votes and influence elections in Moldova. Plahotniuc faces several other long-standing criminal cases in Moldova but denies involvement in any of them. His lawyers claimed the prosecutor's stance was politically motivated.