One of Moldova’s most powerful former business and political figures, ex-oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, has received a 19-year prison sentence following his conviction on charges connected to the massive 2014–2015 banking fraud widely dubbed the “theft of the century” in the Eastern European nation.
At the time of the scheme, Plahotniuc held the title of Moldova’s richest person, and prosecutors proved that he played a key coordinating role in the siphoning of roughly $1 billion from Moldovan financial institutions. That sum amounted to 12% of Moldova’s entire gross domestic product in 2014, leaving the country’s public finances crippled. Investigators confirmed Plahotniuc personally diverted more than $40 million of the stolen funds for his own private use; court documents show the money went toward purchases including a private Embraer Legacy 650 jet, multiple high-value real estate assets, luxury travel, premium medical services, and private business investments. In addition to the lengthy prison term, the court ordered Plahotniuc to pay $60 million in restitution to the Moldovan state.
The fraud unfolded over just 48 hours in 2014, when $1 billion in loans was moved from Moldovan banks to a web of shell companies registered in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, whose true owners were concealed at the time. When the scheme collapsed, the Moldovan government was forced to intervene with a bank bailout to protect ordinary depositors, a move that left a public budget hole equal to one-eighth of the country’s annual GDP. Subsequent investigations traced most of the stolen funds to companies controlled by pro-Russian oligarch Ilan Shor, who currently resides in Moscow and faces separate accusations of orchestrating pro-Russian vote manipulation schemes in Moldova. Authorities confirmed Wednesday that Plahotniuc leveraged his widespread influence across Moldova’s political, financial, and legal sectors to build a coordinated criminal network, and that he facilitated Shor’s entry into the shareholder base of targeted Moldovan commercial banks to enable the fraud.
Plahotniuc was not immediately charged in connection with the scheme. It was not until 2019, when his Democratic Party was removed from national power, that he faced formal corruption charges. He fled Moldova that year and remained a fugitive for six years, until law enforcement captured him in Athens in July 2025 as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai. He was extradited back to Moldova to face trial later that year. Plahotniuc has repeatedly denied all criminal allegations against him, and he was not present in court for the sentencing. His legal team has confirmed they will appeal the conviction, maintaining that the charges against their client are politically motivated. Plahotniuc also faces multiple additional ongoing criminal investigations in Moldova, all of which he denies any involvement in.