Vladimir Plahotniuc: Moldovan oligarch faces bank fraud charges
Moldova's Justice Minister, Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, has announced that former Democratic Party leader Vladimir Plahotniuc is to be extradited to the country on Thursday.
The powerful oligarch will be held in a separate cell at a maximum-security prison.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is handling the operational aspects of the extradition, including transport and logistics, in cooperation with Interpol. The Justice Ministry has prepared for his detention, ensuring he will be held at Penitentiary No. 13.
The minister said he would be held in a separate cell at the prison for security reasons, given his past position as a public official. He will be held there in accordance with Article 205 of the Execution Code.
The only scheduled flight from Athens to Chișinău's "Eugen Doga" International Airport on Thursday is due to land at 09:30 local time.
Ms Mihailov-Moraru said she did not know why Greece's Justice Ministry had briefly suspended the extradition. "The important thing is that the Moldovan authorities made all the necessary efforts to finalise the extradition," she said.
The extradition follows three requests filed by prosecutors in the Moldovan capital.
Greek authorities had approved the extradition but briefly suspended it last week. Reports said Plahotniuc was due to be questioned in Romania over a separate forgery case.
There are several criminal cases against Mr Plahotniuc in Moldovan courts. He fled the country in June 2019 after his Democratic Party lost power.
In a case linked to the country's "bank fraud" scandal, he faces charges of creating and leading a criminal organisation, fraud and money laundering. He is alleged to have received a total of nearly $39.3m (£31.4m) and more than €3.5m (£3.1m) in stolen funds from three banks: Banca de Economii, Unibank and Banca Socială.
Mr Plahotniuc faces up to 15 years in jail.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
