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Moldovan tycoon extradited to his home country, placed under arrest

Vladimir Plahotniuc is accused of creating and leading a criminal group, large-scale fraud, and money laundering

CHISINAU, September 25. /TASS/. Former leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova Vladimir Plahotniuc has been extradited to Chisinau, where he will be placed under arrest for further investigation into criminal cases filed against him, a TASS correspondent reported.

According to him, the oligarch was transported in handcuffs on a scheduled flight from Athens to Chisinau airport, where he was taken to a detention center.

Plahotniuc was wanted in connection with three criminal cases. He is accused of creating and leading a criminal group, large-scale fraud, and money laundering. The latter case concerns a high-profile scandal involving the transfer of one billion dollars from the country's banking system.

In November 2017, Moscow’s Basmanny Court arrested Plahotniuc in absentia and issued an international arrest warrant for him in connection with an attempted murder case. He is also suspected of withdrawing large sums of money from Russian banks together with Moldovan politician Renato Usaty. Plahotniuc's defense team has claimed that he is being persecuted for political reasons.

The tycoon left Moldova in 2019 after losing the parliamentary elections. Former Moldovan Prime Minister Ion Sturza previously stated that the country's authorities fear Plahotniuc's return because he allegedly has compromising information on politicians and officials. In turn, former Parliament Speaker Alexander Slusar said that Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean fears Plahotniuc’s return because the oligarch has compromising information on Recean. Slusar recalled that, after Plahotniuc took control of the parliament, the judicial system, and the Constitutional Court in 2016, several criminal cases were brought against Recean but were later dropped.

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