Plahotniuc’s Overseas Property Will Be Arrested

The Prosecutor General’s Office announced that the property of former DPM leader Vladimir Plahotniuc, estimated at more than 160 million lei, will be placed under arrest by the authorities of Romania, France and Switzerland. According to a press release published by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the institution “presented additional evidence and convinced the judges that Vladimir Plahotniuc is the actual beneficiary of these assets.” Plahotniuc’s villas in Switzerland, France and Romania, five cars and a boat (registered in Switzerland) will be confiscated. Also subject to seizure are 9 apartments registered in the name of his wife and 4 cars (registered in the Republic of Moldova). “The prosecutor’s office has provided sufficient evidence, documented by the Agency for the Recovery of Criminal Assets and the Information and Security Service, which demonstrates that the real beneficiary of this property is the accused, despite the fact that they are all registered in the names of third parties,” the statement said. The prosecutor’s office representatives also note that, according to the findings, movable and immovable property was obtained as a result of money stolen from the banking system of Moldova, and in order to recover the damage caused as a result of this crime, the prosecutor’s office insisted on the seizure of Plahotniuc’s property in the country and abroad. All of Plahotniuc’s property on the territory of the Republic of Moldova has already been arrested. A package of documents with the necessary translations was sent to the authorities of France, Switzerland and Romania. Moldova charges Vladimir Plahotniuc on three counts: establishing and managing a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering on an especially large scale.