Judges order $60 million collected from Vladimir Plahotniuc’s account

The judges ordered today the collection from Vladimir Plahotniuc’s account of about 60 million US dollars, which represents the damage caused by the embezzlement of the three banks targeted in the bank fraud case, including a late-payment penalty provided by law. The clarifications were made today by the case prosecutor, Alexandru Cernei, after the court sentenced the former Democratic Party leader to 19 years in prison.

The prosecutor emphasized that the defendant was found guilty on all five counts with which he had been charged.

"A prison sentence of 19 years was imposed, to be served in a closed-type penitentiary. This punishment was calculated by applying a partial cumulation of sentences. We initially requested a sentence of 25 years in prison. We will analyze the arguments set out in the judgment to decide whether to challenge it," stated Alexandru Cernei.

The prosecutor also stressed that all seizures applied in this case were maintained.

"The estimated amount exceeds one billion lei. At the time of enforcing the judgment, this amount may vary depending on the increase in prices of real estate and other seized assets," added Alexandru Cernei.

Vladimir Plahotniuc’s lawyer Lucian Rogac described the sentence as “illegal” and announced that he would challenge it at the Court of Appeal.

"We consider the court’s decision to be illegal. We will challenge it in the higher court. At the same time, we will invoke serious violations and deviations concerning fundamental rights and guarantees. We note that the entire trial was conducted in enormous haste and with multiple violations of the defendant’s rights," said Lucian Rogac.

The former Democratic Party leader, Vladimir Plahotniuc, was sentenced to 19 years in prison in the bank fraud case. The sentence was handed down today by the judges of the Chișinău Court, Buiucani. The panel of judges consisted of Sergiu Stratan, Ana Cucerescu and Olga Bejenari.

The court’s decision was pronounced in the absence of Vladimir Plahotniuc. According to the ruling, he was found guilty of fraud, money laundering, and creating and leading a criminal organization.

In addition to the bank fraud case, Vladimir Plahotniuc is also under investigation for document forgery. The criminal proceedings in this case were recently initiated based on documents seized by Greek investigators from the house the former Democratic leader was renting in Athens, Greece. The documents show that he allegedly used multiple identities, with a total of 18 false documents being discovered.

Vladimir Plahotniuc has been in pre-trial detention since 25 September 2025, after being extradited from Greece, at which point the four arrest warrants issued in his name were enforced. He is currently held in Penitentiary No. 13 in Chișinău.