Moldovan police announced on July 22 the arrest in Greece of the fugitive Moldovan oligarch, former leader of the Democratic Party, Vlad Plahotniuc. The police clarified that they received information from the Interpol office in Athens. This is reported by NewsMaker, writes UNN.
We received official information from Interpol in Athens about the arrest in Greece of two Moldovan citizens. One of them is Vlad Plahotniuc
– the police statement reads.
According to the publication’s sources, the second detainee was former Moldovan MP, Plahotniuc’s associate — Constantin Țuțu.
Addition
Vlad Plahotniuc left Moldova in June 2019. For a long time, the politician lived in the USA, but in January 2020, his stay there was deemed undesirable. According to unconfirmed information, he had recently been hiding in Northern Cyprus.
In Moldova, Plahotniuc has arrest warrants issued against him in three criminal cases. In July 2023, the prosecutor’s office submitted to court a case in which he is accused of complicity in the theft of a billion dollars from Moldovan banks in 2014. According to the prosecutor’s office, Plahotniuc received $39 million and €3.5 million through companies controlled by Ilan Shor.
Interpol declared Plahotniuc internationally wanted on February 7, 2025.
According to Interpol data, Plahotniuc holds passports from Moldova, Romania, Russia, and Mexico. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico confirmed that Plahotniuc’s Mexican passport is forged.
Constantin Țuțu is accused in Moldova of illicit enrichment and entering false data into his income declaration. According to the materials of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office investigation, while holding a public office from 2014 to 2019, the former deputy received over 6.45 million lei in income from various sources. At the same time, his expenses during this period exceeded 10 million lei. Prosecutors believe that Țuțu deliberately concealed information about his income and expenses, stating false data in official documents.