Greece extradite oligarch Plahotniuc to Moldova in a fraud case of $ 1 billion

The Moldovan oligarch and a former senior politician was extradited from Greece, accused of participating in the theft of $ 1 billion (£ 748 million).

Vladimir Plahotniuk, 59, was flying from Athens to Chisinau on Thursday morning and then taken to a detention center in Moldova’s capital, local employees said.

A tycoon, who is facing several years of criminal cases in Moldova, has repeatedly denied any misconduct and swore to prove his innocence.

His extradition comes days before the parliamentary elections on Sunday, with President Maya Sano warns that Moldova’s independence and the European future are in danger Due to Russia’s attempts to ignite violence and spread misinformation.

Vladimir Plahotniw escaped Moldova in 2019, when his Democratic Party was voted out of power.

On Thursday morning, he was seen to be accompanied by the aircraft in which the Moldovan police arrived and Interpol’s staff.

He was then put in a car and expelled from the airport.

In a social media publication, President Sandu writes: “If you do not give up when it is difficult and you continue to fight – the whole society continues to fight – even criminals who seemed invincible, they come to court.”

His lawyer, Lucian Rogak, has accused the pro-EU government of the EU for turning his client’s extradition “into a tasteless political performance before the key elections.

The lawyer also stated that his client’s “fundamental rights” were violated during the extradition process, which began on July 22 with his arrest at Athens Airport at the request of Moldova.

The tycoon is one of the main suspects in the disappearance of $ 1 billion from three Moldovan banks in 2014 – a case known as the theft of the Century.

At that time, it was reported that the amount cost more than 10% of Moldova’s gross domestic product.

His extradition is coming as the impoverished country between Romania and Ukraine is preparing for the September 28 election, which will determine whether Moldova continues his integration with the EU or returns to Russia’s political influence.

Earlier this week, Sanu accused Moscow of “pouring hundreds of millions of euros” in Moldova in an attempt to overcome violence and to spread misinformation and fear.

“The Kremlin believes we are all for sale. That we are too small to resist … But Moldova is our home. And our home is not for sale,” the president said.

The BBC recently revealed evidence of a network with connections with Moscow and businessman from Moldovan Moldovan, Ilan Schor, who works to distribute misinformation.

An undercover reporter found that people were paid to publish fake content online, He intended to undermine the ruling party before the vote. The posts had millions of views. Shor did not answer BBC’s request for comment.

Taking into account the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski warned that Europe could not afford to lose Moldova for Russian influence after failing to save Georgia and Belarus from Moscow’s orbit.

Zelenski said Russian President Vladimir Putin – who began a full -scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – “will continue to move the war forward and deeper” if not stopped.

Meanwhile, Moldova’s pro -Russian parties have accused Sandu of trying to intimidate them – and swing on the vote.

They also say that her government does not go far enough to deal with widespread corruption.

The Russian SVR Foreign Intelligence Service has accused European countries this week of thinking of the “rough counterfeit” of the result on Sunday to provoke protests.

SVR warned that the EU could install Moldova’s “armed invasion and de-fate”, deceived that the EU was using troops.

Moldova declared its independence as the USSR collapsed in 1991, but has a significant Russian -speaking population. The detached region of Transistria, supported by Moscow, is still home to a contingent of Russian troops.