Moldovan oligarch and former influential politician Vladimir Plahotniuc was sentenced on Monday to 19 years in prison in a fraud case related to the embezzlement of $1 billion from the country's banking sector, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Plahotniuc, who was not in the courtroom in the capital Chisinau, has already denied any wrongdoing. He maintains his innocence, describing the trial against him as political revenge.
Plahotniuc's defense called the verdict illegal and said the procedure was hasty. The decision can be appealed within the next 15 days.
From 2016 to 2019, Plahotniuc was the leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova - part of the ruling coalition at the time, serving as deputy speaker of parliament. While in office, he exercised great influence over the police and the judiciary.
The 60-year-old Plahotniuc, considered one of the richest people in Moldova, has long been among the main suspects in the case related to the embezzlement of $1 billion from three of Moldova's largest banks in the period 2014-2015, Reuters recalls.
In the scandal, known locally as the "theft of the century", an amount amounting to 12% of Moldova's GDP at the time was siphoned abroad through dubious loans, asset swaps and shareholder deals, Reuters points out.
Plahotniuc was accused of personally embezzling $39 million and 3.5 million euros from the three banks. The prosecutor's office said it had evidence that Plahotniuc used the funds diverted from the banks for personal gain - the purchase of an Embraer Legacy 650 aircraft, the acquisition of real estate, payments for legal, medical and tourist services, as well as for commercial investments.
The case continues to influence Moldovan politics more than a decade after the events, Reuters notes.
Plahotniuc fled the country in 2019 after his Democratic Party lost elections to an opposition coalition that included the Action and Solidarity Party (PSD) of current President Maia Sandu. He was accused of involvement in the fraud in 2020 and arrested at the airport in the Greek capital Athens in July last year, on board a plane to Dubai (UAE).
Greek police said that since 2023, Plahotniuc had lived in 22 countries, regularly changing his residence to avoid arrest. He was extradited to Moldova in September last year and has been in pre-trial detention since then.