Moldovan Oligarch Plahotniuc Denied Asylum in US

Plahotniuc was deprived of an American visa because of his "corrupt practices" Moldovan oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, who fled the country last year amid reshuffles in the government, sought political asylum in the United States, but was denied. A lawsuit filed in the US federal court notified of this. In January, four months after submitting the application, a visa was withdrawn from Plahotniuc. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his “corrupt practices undermined the rule of law and jeopardized the independence of democratic institutions in Moldova.” A month after the visa was canceled, Plahotniuc filed a lawsuit in the New York District Court, claiming that this decision deprived him of the “proper asylum process and put his life and freedom at serious risk.” Plahotniuc is suspected of involvement in the theft of more than $1 billion from the largest banks in Moldova from 2012 to 2014. This amount is more than one eighth of the country's GDP.