Moldova Ex-Minister indicted in France over Interpol red notices
Vitalie Pîrlog, Chisinau's former Minister of Justice and of the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), arrested in the United Arab Emirates in mid-June, was extradited and indicted in France on Friday, according to judicial sources cited by the French media.
He is accused of helping to delete Interpol Red Notices, thereby allowing high-ranking fugitives to escape justice. Pîrlog was arrested after an international arrest warrant was issued by France at the end of January 2025.
The suspect requested a postponement of his appearance before a liberty and custody judge, who will shortly decide whether to remand him in custody or release him. Pending this hearing, he has been imprisoned, according to the judicial source.
Vitalie Pîrlog, former President of Interpol's Commission for the Control of Files, is accused of forgery, bribery, facilitating bribes, and fraud. In December 2024, Pîrlog allegedly spearheaded a scheme through which "Red Notices" – international wanted person alerts – were removed from Interpol's database in exchange for substantial sums of money.
Investigators claim that, leveraging his influence within the commission, Pîrlog and his accomplices allegedly blocked alerts for dozens of individuals sought for serious offenses, including financial fraud and drug trafficking. In return for these illicit interventions, the group reportedly obtained millions of dollars. The scheme is believed to have operated between 2022 and early 2023, when Interpol launched an internal investigation.
In June 2024, anti-corruption prosecutors in the Republic of Moldova, in collaboration with French authorities and the FBI, conducted over 30 searches in connection with this case and detained several suspects, including Viorel Țentiu, who was then head of Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB) in the Republic of Moldova.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
