Vitalie Pîrlog's detention in Abu Dhabi officially confirmed by the IGP
The International Police Cooperation Directorate of the General Inspectorate of Police (IGP) has received official confirmation from the authorities in the United Arab Emirates regarding Vitalie Pîrlog's detention in Abu Dhabi.
The response was provided at the request of law enforcement agencies in the Republic of Moldova. On June 19, they sent requests to both Abu Dhabi and French authorities to verify the authenticity of information published by the press regarding the detention of a former INTERPOL employee.
Vitalie Pîrlog, the former Minister of Justice in Chișinău, was detained on Sunday, June 15, 2025, based on an international Red Notice warrant issued by INTERPOL at the request of French authorities.
Pîrlog, who previously served as the president of INTERPOL's Files Control Commission (CCF), is accused of forgery, bribery, facilitation of bribery, and fraud. An investigation reported by Bloomberg in December 2024 revealed that Pîrlog allegedly led a scheme in which "red notices"—international surveillance alerts—were removed from the INTERPOL database in exchange for substantial sums of money.
Investigators claim that Pîrlog and his accomplices exploited his influence within the CCF to block alerts for dozens of individuals wanted for serious crimes, including financial fraud and drug trafficking. In return for these illegal interventions, the group allegedly obtained millions of dollars. The scheme reportedly operated between 2022 and early 2023, until INTERPOL launched an internal investigation.
In June 2024, anti-corruption prosecutors from the Republic of Moldova, in collaboration with French authorities and the FBI, conducted over 30 searches related to this case and detained several suspects, including Viorel Țentiu, who was then the head of the INTERPOL Bureau in the Republic of Moldova.
"The scheme was well-planned: certain internationally wanted persons were presented as asylum seekers in the Republic of Moldova. In reality, the applications were submitted by lawyers through a power of attorney, and the individuals in question were not even in the country," explained Viorel Cernăuțeanu, the head of the IGP, in an interview with PRO TV Chișinău.
The head of the National Police added that Pîrlog will be extradited to France, the country that issued the international arrest warrant against him.
