The court of first instance found Vladimir Plahotniuc guilty of all five counts in the case of the theft of a billion. He was sentenced to a total of 19 years in prison. The court also ordered the recovery of $57.9 million and €5.1 million from him. Plahotniuc did not come to the announcement of the verdict. NM talks about the last hearing in the case, which was called a “test for Moldovan justice,” as well as the most important “points” of the trial, and what’s next.
Verdict in the absence of the defendant
Plahotniuc’s case was heard by the court of the capital’s Buiucani sector. An hour before the sentencing, it was known that the defendant would not be at the hearing. He missed most of the hearings of this trial, citing the fact that he was studying multi-volume materials of the criminal case. His lawyer Lucian Rogac later explained to reporters that Plahotniuc decided to exercise his right not to attend the meeting.
Due to the absence of the defendant, the court decided not to apply special security measures, despite the excitement and media interest in the outcome of one of the most high-profile trials in the modern history of Moldova. The courtroom could barely accommodate everyone, including even students who came to watch the verdict being announced.
The verdict was announced by Judge Sergiu Stratan. For creating a criminal organization, Plahotniuc was sentenced to 12 years in a closed prison. For two counts of complicity in bank theft, he was sentenced to 13 years each. He was also found guilty of two counts of money laundering and was sentenced to 8 years in prison for each of them. Taken together on all five counts, by partial addition of sentences, the court sentenced Plahotniuc to 19 years in a closed prison.
This period is counted from the moment of sentencing, taking into account the time that Plahotniuc was under preliminary arrest in Greece and Moldova. The defendant will remain in custody until a final decision is made by the appellate court. In addition, Plahotniuc is obliged to reimburse the state for 96 thousand lei spent on his extradition from Greece.
The court also decided to recover from Plahotniuc in favor of the Ministry of Finance in compensation for material damage caused by the crime, $39.2 million and €3.5 million, as well as the interest accrued on them: $18.7 million and €1.6 million, respectively.
After the meeting, Plahotniuc’s lawyer said that the defense would definitely appeal the verdict to the Court of Appeal. Rogak insists that the rights of the defendant and the defense were violated in this trial.
If the sentence remains in force, then, according to the Criminal Code, Plahotniuc will be able to count on parole only after serving three quarters of the assigned term and full compensation for damages to the state.
Has Moldovan justice passed the test?
The fugitive Moldovan oligarch, ex-leader of the Democratic Party Vladimir Plahotniuc was detained on July 22, 2025 at Athens airport. At that time, many wondered whether the Moldovan judicial system would be able to deliver a fair verdict. The head of the Center for Legal Resources of Moldova (CRJM), Ilie Chirtoaca, told NM that Moldova has carried out important reforms in the field of justice in recent years, so the courts have everything they need to pass a fair verdict. The lawyer of the WatchDog.md expert community, Alexandru Bot, noted that the result will depend on how professionally and legally the materials on the Plahotniuc case are prepared.
To answer the question whether the Moldovan justice system was able to adequately cope with the high-profile Plahotniuc case, let us remember how this case went. The trial began with the interrogation of key political figures from the time of the theft of the billion. At the end of October 2025, the court heard the first witnesses, among whom were former Secretary General of the Presidential Administration Ion Paduraru and ex-Speaker of Parliament Igor Corman. Their testimony revealed details of how at a meeting at the state residence they discussed the allocation of state guarantees to the National Bank to cover the financial hole that had formed in three banks. According to the testimony of some participants, the initiative to issue loans to save banks came, among other things, from Plahotniuc.
In November, the meetings continued with the interrogation of dozens of former ordinary employees and managers from Plahotniuc’s structures, including the management of GMG Production, Prime TV channel and Prime Management employees. Many witnesses, from administrators to receptionists at the GBC business center, stated that their signatures on financial and notarial documents were forged. They claimed that they learned about their involvement in multimillion-dollar transactions only during the investigation. Some witnesses were confused in their testimony or even stated that they did not remember anything about the events of those years. The court also read written statements from two important prosecution witnesses who did not live to see the trial.
In December, Plahotniuc himself took the floor, expressing dissatisfaction with the rapid pace of the process and the fact that he was prohibited from using the computer in his cell to independently calculate financial damages. He said that he came into politics “not hungry,” but with a successful business behind him, and doubted the logic of the accusation. According to him, it is absurd to consider him the main organizer of the theft of an entire billion, if the investigation accuses him of receiving only about 30 million. Plahotniuc also pointed out the strangeness of the fact that none of the relevant officials of that time is involved in the case as his accomplice. Soon after this, former heads of the National Bank and the National Commission for the Financial Market gave testimony about the mechanism for withdrawing funds from banks and issuing state loans to these banks.
At the beginning of 2026, the trial moved to questioning witnesses from the defense and examining new evidence. In January, former Prime Minister Iurie Leanca spoke in court, who told how the financial hole in the banking system grew by a billion lei per month, and also gave details of his acquaintance with Ilan Shor. In February, a secret witness for the prosecution, who had a close relationship with him, testified against Plahotniuc. She revealed offshore management schemes, talked about “dirty money”, connections with Shor and the role of Vladimir Andronaki. The defendant himself, in his testimony, continued to insist that all key decisions on problem banks were made before him.
The final stage of the judicial investigation was Plahotniuc’s last word at the end of March 2026. Addressing the court before sentencing, he briefly summarized his position. Plahotniuc said that he does not consider himself a holy man, but he is not involved in the theft of a billion from three banks.
Vladimir Plahotniuc, who has been on the run since 2019, was detained in Greece at the end of July 2025, and on September 25 he was extradited to Moldova. In Chisinau, he was placed under preliminary arrest in the capital’s prison No. 13. The arrest period was extended several times.
Plahotniuc is accused in several criminal cases, the most notorious of which is the case of the theft of a billion. According to the prosecutor’s office, Plahotniuc, through companies controlled by Ilan Shor, received $39 million and €3.5 million from the stolen funds. The prosecutor’s office sent this case to court in July 2023.
The theft of about €1 billion from three Moldovan banks – Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank – became known at the end of November 2014. After this, the National Bank introduced special management in these banks, and then the authorities decided to liquidate them (the process is still ongoing). At the same time, the National Bank issued loans to these banks under government guarantees in an amount equivalent to the stolen amount – about 14 billion lei, or at the exchange rate of that time, approximately €1 billion. As the authorities explained, these loans were necessary to avoid panic in the banking market. To offset this debt, the government issued and transferred to the National Bank government bonds worth 13.3 billion lei at 5% per annum with a maturity of 25 years. These funds were transferred to the category of public debt. Taking into account interest over 25 years, the total amount of payments will be 24.5 billion lei.
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