Vladimir Plahotniuc (born 1 January 1966) is a Moldovan politician, businessman and oligarch. He was the chairman of the

Democratic Party of Moldova The European Social Democratic Party ( ro, Partidul Social Democrat European, PSDE) is a centre-left, populist social-democratic political party in Moldova. Established in 1997, the party holds pro-European views, and is an associate member of th ...

(24 December 2016 – 24 June 2019) and previously was member of the

Parliament of Moldova The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameralism, unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a peri ...

in three terms (December 2010 – October 2013, December 2014 – July 2015, February 2019 – July 2019), and served as First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova (December 2010 – February 2013). Until leaving the territory of the Republic of Moldova in 2019, he was considered to be the powerhouse of Moldovan politics in matters of influence, controlling Moldova's government and parliamentary majority. Plahotniuc currently resides in Turkey after having fled Republic of Moldova in June 2019.

Early life and education

Plahotniuc was born on 1 January 1966 in Pitușca,

Călărași District Călărași () is a district ( ro, raion) in the centre of Moldova, with the administrative headquarters in Călărași, Moldova, Călărași. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 78,800. History The district territory is inhabited since P ...

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(now

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

). As he stated in an interview, a strong footprint in his education was left by his parents and grandparents. He attended the Grozești village secondary school, in

Nisporeni District Nisporeni () is a district ( ro, raion) in west-central Moldova, with its administrative center at Nisporeni. According to the 2014 census, its population was 53,154; most (82.8 percent) are Moldovans. History The Vărzărești monastery was firs ...

. In 1983 he graduated this institution with a ''Cum Laude'' diploma. In 1991 he graduated the

Technical University of Moldova The Technical University of Moldova (UTM; ro, Universitatea Tehnică a Moldovei) is a higher technical educational institution located in Chișinău, Moldova, and is the only such institute in the country to be accredited by the state. History ...

with a bachelor's degree in Engineering, at the Food Industry Technology Faculty. In 2002 he obtained an MBA degree at the same university. In 2006 he obtained a master's degree in Civil Law at the European Studies University of Moldova.

Career

During 1991–1993, he held the position of specialist at the "Minor" Center for prevention and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, affiliated with the

Chișinău City Hall Chișinău City Hall ( ro, Primăria Municipiului Chișinău) is a historical and architectural monument built in Italian Gothic style located in Central Chișinău, Moldova. Originally constructed to house the city Duma in 1901, the building wa ...

. He held the position of economist at Euro EstHundel Ltd Moldova, then he worked at "Voyage" Ltd Moldova. In 1995–1998 he founded "Angels" Moldovan-American Financial Group, which he managed until 2001. From 2001 to 2010 he held the position of Commercial Manager and afterwards he was the general manager of "Petrom Moldova" JSC, dealing with oil import and distribution. Starting in 2005 he was appointed Vice chairman of the board at Victoriabank commercial bank, one of the leading banks of Moldova and in 2006 he became its chairman, a position he held until January 2011.Cum a devenit Vladimir Plahotniuc milionar în euro
27 ianuarie 2011, adevarul.ro, accesat la 6 mai 2011 Since then, he has been focusing on his political career as a member of the Democratic Party of Moldova. In 2015, he founded a large media company, including General Media Group and Radio Media Group.

Political activity

In August 2010 Plahotniuc stated: "I don't get involved in politics. I'm not interested in running on a party list." But on the evening of 19 November 2010, during the meeting of the Political Bureau of the

, it was decided to include Plahotniuc on the 2nd spot on its electoral party list. As result, he delegated the administration of his businesses to his managers to be able to dedicate himself to

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. He became a member of the Parliament in December 2010, a position he held until October 2013 when he resigned. On 30 December 2010, during the Democratic Party National Political Council session, Plahotniuc was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova. On the same day he was elected as the First Deputy Speaker of the

Parliament of the Republic of Moldova The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova is the supreme representative body of the Republic of Moldova, the only state legislative authority, being a unicameral structure composed of 101 elected MPs on lists, for a period of 4 years. Parliamen ...

. He was also elected as a member of the Commission of Economy, Budget and Finance within the Parliament of Moldova. On 19 May 2011, by presidential decree,

Marian Lupu Marian Lupu (; born 20 June 1966) is a Moldovan politician who was the President of the Parliament of Moldova between 2010 and 2013. From this position he served as Acting President of the Republic from 2010 until 2012. Personal life Marian Lup ...

founded the ''National Council for the Judiciary Reform'', which included Plahotniuc as vice-chairman. In June 2012, Plahotniuc became First Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova. On 15 February 2013, the parliamentary fraction of PCRM and PLDM, without the conclusion of the Parliamentary Commission "Legal Committee for appointments and immunities" of the

, together voted

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

to Vladimir Plahotniuc. Following this decision, supported by the votes of 73 out of 101 deputies from the Communist Party and Liberal Democratic Party, the office of First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Moldova was abolished and this is what determined Vladimir Plahotniuc to resign. In its turn, Vlad Plahotniuc – urged the Prime Minister Vlad Filat, who was later condemned for influence peddling and passive corruption, to follow his lead. At the end of October 2013, Vladimir Plahotniuc resigned from the MP position. The motion of no confidence was the reason given in January 2016 by the Moldovan President

Nicolae Timofti Nicolae Timofti (; born 22 December 1948 in Ciutulești, Moldavian SSR) is a Moldovan jurist and politician who was President of Moldova from 23 March 2012 until 23 December 2016. He served as head of Moldova's Supreme Magistrate Council and wa ...

, to reject the Vlad Plahotniuc candidature for the Prime Minister Position. Timofti has mentioned, "Plahotniuc is not qualified for the Prime-Minister position". He further precise that among the qualifications for that position are "the integrity of the candidate must not give rise to doubt". Plahotniuc told reporters in 2014: "I entered politics with my business in place. I wanted to give something back, not the other way round." He is one of the wealthiest people in Moldova, if not the wealthiest one. According to his op-ed, he declares himself as a huge supporter of EU integration and strengthening the relations with the west. In December 2014, Plahotniuc was elected again as a member of Parliament, and in July 2015 he resigned again from this position "to focus his political activity on reforming the party". On 15 October 2015, on the day

Vlad Filat Vladimir Filat (born 6 May 1969), commonly referred to as Vlad Filat (), is a Moldovan businessman and politician, founder of Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova. He was the Prime Minister of Moldova from 25 September 2009 to 25 April 2013. He a ...

was detained as part of the ongoing investigation into the

2014 Moldovan bank fraud scandal In 2014, $1 billion disappeared from three Moldovan banks: ''Banca de Economii'', ''Unibank'' and ''Banca Socială''. In early May 2016 Plahotniuc, as an executive coordinator of the Governing Coalition Council, a previously unknown position, was on an official visit to Washington. He attended an event of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

, where he met

Victoria Nuland Victoria Jane Nuland (born July 1, 1961) is an American diplomat currently serving as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Nuland, a former member of the foreign service, served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eura ...

, assistant to the US Secretary of State. On 24 December 2016 during the 8th Democratic Party Congress, Plahotniuc was elected Chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova. On 6 March 2017, Plahotniuc announced that his party would propose a uninominal voting system. Two months later on 10 May, he announced the party's position to completely support the Government in its reform of the central administration. In a press briefing, he stated only nine ministries would remain out of the existing sixteen. In March 2017 Plahotniuc was elected as deputy president of the Socialist International at the XXVth congress of the organization, taking place from 2 to 4 March in Cartagena, Colombia. Thus he joined the leadership of the Socialist International chaired by George Papandreou, President of the Socialist International and Luis Ayala, Secretary General of the Socialist International, who were also reelected for the next four years. On 30 March 2017, a majority of the Moldova Parliament, led by the Democrats, voted a draft law on modifying the Constitution of Moldova on lifting the immunity of MPs, while the Socialist and Communist MPs criticized the initiative. In 2013, Plahotniuc declared, "Immunity lifting of deputies is not populism, is a test that politicians should give to the society." In July 2017 at the Congress of

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...

, Plahotniuc demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from eastern Moldova. In 2018, Plahotniuc urged the government to launch a campaign to promote a housing program named "Prima casă" ("First Home"), planned to ease acquirement of housing for civil servants. At the beginning of 2018, he also announced the launching of a national program "Drumuri bune pentru Moldova" ("Good Roads for Moldova"). Plahotniuc mentioned that this project is the biggest infrastructure project since the declaration of Independence, although some experts found the project to be unrealistic. According to previous opinion polls, Plahotniuc was the most anti-rating Moldovan politician, considered by the Moldovan citizens to be a politician with less trust and an unfavorable opinion. The polls made in 2019 referring to the most respected politicians of the Republic of Moldova Vladimir Plahotniuc was ranked at the 3rd and 5th in the top of politicians in which Moldovans have the highest trust. On the parliamentary elections on 24 February 2019 has been elected as an MP into the

designated by the Democratic Party of Moldova in the Nisporeni uninominal constituency no.17. On 24 June 2019 Vladimir Plahotniuc resigned from the position of the chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova. On 30 July 2019 Vladimir Plahotniuc has renounced his MP's mandate within the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The Parliament has approved the decision on Vladimir Plahotniuc's resignation as MP. And the MP's mandate for the uninominal circumscription no.17, where Plahotniuc was elected, was declared vacant.

Parliamentary diplomacy

As the first deputy chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Plahotniuc represented the interests of the Republic of Moldova both during official trips and at official meetings with political leaders from other states. Between 13 and 15 June 2011, Plahotniuc attended the 9th Conference of the presidents of the Parliaments of the Member States of the South East European Cooperation Process. The Republic of Moldova is a member of the SEECP since 2006. He was also part of CIS member countries Interparliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

, the Friendship Group with the Swiss Confederation, the Friendship Group with the Hellenic Republic and the Friendship Group with the Hungarian Republic.

Position on foreign relations

Plahotniuc stated in an interview for the Moldovan news website ''Deschide.md'' that "the Republic of Moldova will not cancel or renegotiate the Association Agreement with the EU, and will not sign an Agreement with the Euro-Asiatic Union", qualifying the statements made by Igor Dodon in Moscow as purely electioneering rhetoric. Regarding president Igor Dodon's official visit to Moscow, Plahotniuc has committed the Democratic Party to stand firmly for continuing Moldova's commitment to the European Union and maintains that the Moldova – EU relation must stay pivotal for the foreign policy. On 7 January 2017 Plahotniuc addressed a message to the U.S. president-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

; the statement reflects the party leader's vision: ″Moldova is willing to become a bridge between East and West, not a battleground for the world powers″. As chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova, Plahotniuc has stood against the long-looming prospect of a Russian-annexed Moldova. The Democratic Party of Moldova has repeatedly reaffirmed its devotion to Western doctrines such as democracy. During his presidency of the Democratic Party, Plahotniuc has attended many meetings with officials from the US and Europe. One of his achievements in that direction was the submission of pro-Moldovan resolutions in the House of Representatives of the US Congress by Congressmen David Price and

Pete Olson Peter Graham Olson (born December 9, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2021. His district included much of southern Houston, as well as most of the city's southwestern suburbs such as Katy, ...

after having several meetings with them. The resolution reiterated the US support for the territorial integrity of Moldova and for the resolution of the

Transnistria conflict The Transnistria conflict ( ro, Conflictul din Transnistria; russian: Приднестровский конфликт, Pridnestrovskiy konflikt) is an ongoing frozen conflict between Moldova and the unrecognized state of Transnistria. Its mo ...

, as well as to enhance cooperation between Moldova and the US.

Position on Russian interference in Moldova

Plahotniuc has declared many times that one of his main goals is to stop Russian interference in Moldova, which had spread to all spheres of Moldovan economy such as media, banking system, insurance, NGOs and political organisations. To minimize Russian influence over the region, Plahotniuc together with the government coalition pioneered many reforms and laws such as anti-propaganda law, financial reforms based on EU directives and NGO's reform. Russia, in response to laws that aimed to reduce its influence over the regions, started to frame Moldovan officials, including Plahotniuc with bogus legal cases, ratcheting up a long-running diplomatic row between the two countries. According to Moldovan officials, these actions were due to ongoing investigations into the case known locally as the "Russian Laundromat". Plahotniuc declared that Russia's behavior "toward my colleagues and me is an explicit act of blackmail and political harassment.. abusive and illegal behavior, which will not change our commitment to the democratic and European development of Moldova. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, on 22 February 2019, accused Vladimir Plahotniuc of money laundering. According to Plahotniuc's own political party, the Democratic Party, "This was an abusive interference from the Russian Federation side into the elections in the Republic of Moldova. And this so-called case was opened by Russians against the DP's leader, just two days before the parliamentary elections in Moldova, which is clearly an abuse from the Russian Federation side by which they try to influence the election outcomes in Moldova". On 26 June 2019, two days after Vlad Plahotniuc's resignation from the position of the PDM chairperson, he was arraignment, in his absence, in the Russian Federation for organizing the criminal drug trafficking network in particularly large proportions in North Africa, through the European Union, to CIS countries, including the Russian Federation. The former PD leader wrote that these are some of the "threats" addressed to him and his family: "Russian Federation has several criminal cases against me, I am not aware of their exact count. I have learned about each of them from press. They would appear either in the times of elections or when the Republic of Moldova, governed by Democratic Party, made decisions that were not to Moscow's liking. All these cases are fantasies and attempts to involve my name in cases that have absolutely nothing to do with me. It is precisely for reasons of political harassment that Interpol rejected tens of Russia's attempt to limit my freedom of movement abusively." According to the International report ''International Security and Estonia 2020'', published by the Estonian secret services, at the end of 2017, the FSB Directorate for Support Program decided to carry out an influence operation against Vlad Plahotniuc, The purpose of the influence operation was to spread information on Plahotniuc's criminal image and his alleged opposition to European integration, which would discourage the West from cooperating with Plahotniuc. The Kremlin was concerned about Plahotniuc's influence as such, and not about the mechanisms and approaches he was implementing. His influence prevented Russia from achieving its own goals in Moldova and, consequently, as a precondition for the expansion of Russian influence.

Businessman

Plahotniuc ran companies in the following domains: oil, financial and banking, hotel business, media and real estate. In August 2010, the Ukrainian business magazine "Delo" estimated Plahotniuc's wealth to 300 million dollars. Money originated from both "Victoriabank" and "Petrom Moldova" activity, where he acted as Deputy chairman of the board of directors and then general director. Plahotniuc acted as the Chairman of Victoriabank, one of the leading banks in Moldova until January 2011. In 2004–2007 Plahotniuc was the unofficial business partner with Viorel and Victor Țopa, together with whom he gained control over bank Victoriabank and Prime TV channel. In September 2010, Victor and Viorel Țopa addressed a memorandum to a number of national and international institutions (17), accusing Plahotniuc of "raider attacks" of July–August 2011 on a number of 4 banks and ASITO assurance company. The ex-president of Victoriabank, Victor Țurcan, affirmed later in an interview that the real crooks in Victoriabank case are Victor and Viorel Țopa, and they manipulate the public opinion through false statements. Later, by one criminal file for each of Țopa was initiated, and they have fled to Germany, accusing Plahotniuc on political persecution. On 8 March 2017 Plahotniuc published on his Facebook page the Amsterdam Court's decision where is confirmed that Țopa's accusations about the "raider attack" from Victoriabank are unfounded. Plahotniuc is the only owner the company "Prime Management SRL", which was founded in September 2010 and has earned him revenues of 34 million lei (cca 7.8 million euro) as of 2015. Vladimir Plahotniuc has founded two companies: General Media Group Corp and Radio Media Group Inc., which incorporated four TV channels: Publika TV, Prime TV, Canal 2 and Canal 3 and 3 radio stations – Publika FM, Muz FM and Maestro FM. Then, two TV channels Canal 2 and Canal 3 owned by General Media Group Corp have passed in possession of Telestar Media. The democratic leader officially owns two TV channels Prime and Publika TV and two radio stations Muz FM and Publika FM.

Moldova Business People Association

Prior to his entrance into politics on behalf of the Democratic Party of Moldova, on 26 July 2010, Plahotniuc founded the ''Moldova Business People Association'' and he remains the Association's president and in two months it launched its activity with an international economic summit, which had

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Minist ...

, French politician and writer, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the

French Government The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...

, as a guest speaker of the event. The list of participants included Vladimir Plahotniuc, the Chairman of MBPA board;

Andrian Candu Andrian Candu (born 27 November 1975) is a Moldovan politician, who served as chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova between 2015 and 2019. He left political life and went back to consultancy business, where previously he has buil ...

– General Director of MBPA;

Valeriu Lazăr Valeriu Lazăr (born 20 May 1968 in Mingir, Hîncești District) is a Moldovan politician who served as deputy prime minister and minister of economy in the First Vlad Filat Cabinet, Second Filat Cabinet and in the Iurie Leancă Cabinet as wel ...

– Deputy Prime-Minister, Ministry of Economy and Commerce;

Dorin Drăguțanu Dorin Drăguţanu (born 19 March 1974) is an economist from Moldova. He was born in Chişinău and has served as the head of the National Bank of Moldova since November 2009 until April 2016, when was replaced by Sergiu Cioclea. In 1996 Dorin D ...

– Governor of National Bank of Moldova, and many other honorable guests. In 2016, the AOAM's grants program was launched to support young entrepreneurs. Grants constitutes an amount of 50,000 lei. On Plahotniuc's initiative, the Moldova Business People Association launched a collaboration with the

Academy of Sciences of Moldova The Academy of Sciences of Moldova ( ro, Academia de Științe a Moldovei), established in 1961, is the main scientific organization of Moldova and coordinates research in all areas of science and technology. Ion Tighineanu has been the head of t ...

, taking into account that research needs support from the business environment. On 25 October 2010, during a festive event, the ''Moldova Business People Association'' handed out diplomas to the top 100 managers from Moldova.

Charity activity

Plahotniuc is founder of The Foundation of Vlad Plahotniuc "EDELWEISS", which is involved in implementing various social projects in Moldova. Founded in 2010, the foundation implemented many cultural projects, book donations, music concerts and artistic events, supported Moldovan sportsmen, provided financial support for people in need of medical care, Thus, flood victims of the summer 2010

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

River overflowing received financial aid and goods. People in need from all around the country benefited from the same type of assistance and support. Edelweiss refurbished the dormitory building of the "Gracious Joseph" Orphanage and donated them various gifts. In 2014, Edelweiss started a national scale social campaign called "Revive Moldova". Initiated to support and encourage mothers of newborn babies by offering bespoke presents, including childcare and other important things that mothers may need. The campaign was launched in July 2016 at the Mother and Child Institute in Chișinău and extended in 2017 to three other maternities in the country: Maternity Hospital Nisporeni, Cahul and Edineț. The campaign soon reached its goal: to collect 1 million euros for the reconstruction works and modern medical equipment of the Institute of Mother and Child in Chișinău. Edelweiss has also allocated resources to development of children playgrounds and invested a lot in rural localities. Under the Edelweiss Parks project, over 40 safe and modern playgrounds for children from different localities of the country were built. In 2017, Edelweiss started the project "Respect for Seniors" in partnership with the Austrian Embassy and the "Neoumanist" Education Association. The project aims to improve the living standards of 40 elderly people in Strășeni district by providing social and medical services at home. In 2017, the Foundation initiated a project addressed to high school students in the Republic of Moldova to support the enrichment of the educational environment and to encourage students by offering 100 monthly scholarships during the study year 2017–2018. In 2016 the foundation was officially renamed to Fundația lui Vlad Plahotniuc "EDELWEISS" (The Foundation of Vlad Plahotniuc "EDELWEISS"). The campaign "A new life" continued in 2018 at the Mother and Child Institute in Chișinău, at the maternity hospitals in Nisporeni, Cahul and Edineț and extends in the other 20 maternities in the country: Bălți, Cantemir, Călărași, Căușeni, Cimișlia, Criuleni, Ceadîr–Lunga, Drochia, Fălești, Florești, Hîncești, Ialoveni, Rezina, Rîșcani, Sîngerei, Soroca, Strășeni, Șoldănești, Ștefan Vodă, Ungheni, with over 12,400 beneficiaries of boxes for newborns.

Attempted assassination

On 7 April 2017,

Serhiy Knyazev Serhiy Knyazev ( uk, Сергій Князєв; born 18 October 1971) is a Ukrainian official who served as Chief of Ukraine's National Police from 8 February 2017 until 25 September 2019.National Police of Ukraine The National Police of Ukraine ( uk, Націона́льна полі́ція Украї́ни, translit=Natsionálʹna polítsiya Ukrayíny, ; , NPU), often simply referred to as the ( uk, Поліція, lit=Police, label=none), is the nation ...

and

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of ...

of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство внутрішніх справ України, Ministerstvo vnutrishnikh sprav Ukrainy, MVS) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the interior aff ...

announced an attempt had been made on Plahotniuc's life. Authorities detained eight people in Moldova and nine in Ukraine. The investigators found the assassins had links to Russian Federation special forces. On 8 April, according to a press release of

State Border Guard Service of Ukraine , Dorozhno-patrulnaya sluzhba, abbr. ДПС, DPS), Russian Traffic Patrol Service The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS; uk, Державна Прикордонна Служба України, ''Derzhavna Prykordonna Sluzhba Ukrayin ...

, the attempted murder was coordinated by people from the Russian intelligence services. The same day, in a common press statement of Moldovan police and prosecutors, it was stated that the crime was commanded by two citizens of Moldova, one of them being a head of a criminal group, based in Russia. However, some political analysts stated at an opposition channel Jurnal TV, that these events are part of a

hybrid war Hybrid warfare is a theory of military strategy, first proposed by Frank Hoffman, which employs political warfare and blends conventional warfare, irregular warfare, and cyberwarfare with other influencing methods, such as fake news, diplomacy, l ...

. On 27 April 2017, Moldovan prosecutors stated in a press conference, that the interlope Grigore Caramalac (also spelled Karamalak; alias "Bulgaru") is one of the persons who ordered the murder of Plahotniuc. The second individual would be a detainee in a Moldovan prison. Six defendants on Vladimir Plahotniuc's assassination attempt file have been convicted by the first instance.

Controversies

The Gorbuntsov case and arrest ''in absentia''

Plahotniuc has been accused by a hired assassin of being behind the order to kill

German Gorbuntsov German Valeryevich Gorbuntsov (, born 12 April 1966Personal dossier on German Gorbuntsov ...

. Plahotniuc had long been suspected of being linked to the "organization of the murder attempt on banker German Gorbuntsov." The latter rejects the information issued by the murderer Vitalie Proca and claims that Renato Usatîi is the one who wants his death, and Plahotniuc would have no reason to order his assassination. Finally, Moldovan media were divided into two camps, and both camps have their own version of the case. As reaction, on 30 November 2017 a Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for Plahotniuc, charged with attempted murder and was placed on the Russia's international wanted list of criminals. The authorities of the Russian Federation submitted a request to INTERPOL for Plahotniuc to be placed on an international search list. The request was rejected by INTERPOL on the grounds that is pursued the political interest. It justified its decision by saying that the international police organization cannot intervene in what are essentially political disputes between member states. The General Prosecutor’s Office in Moldova announced on Monday evening that it plans to seize overseas property belonging to Vlad Plahotniuc. The General Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement saying, “This is about the accused’s villas in Switzerland, France and Romania, and five cars and a boat (registered in Switzerland). Also, nine apartments registered in the name of his wife, as well as four vehicles in Moldova, are to be seized”.

The century theft

In September 2016, Plahotniuc's name was circulated as being the beneficiary of the "century theft" from the Moldovan banking sector. Kroll International Company in its investigation has called Ilan Shor, the businessman with Moldova-Israeli citizenship, the key organizer and final beneficiary of this theft. The former Prime Minister, Vlad Filat, the mayor of the Orhei town, Ilan Shor, and the controversial businessman Veaceslav Platon have been convicted within this case. The ''New York Times'' has called Plahotniuc Moldova's "Most Feared Tycoon". In the Carnegie Report, "The Structure of Corruption in Moldova," Plahotniuc is referred to as controlling Moldova's network outside of the government and that a central-bank-commissioned report detailing a suspicious transfer of around $1 billion was "seen as a move by the Plahotniuc network to disable its lone competitor, the network around former prime minister Vladimir Filat. After the events of June 2019, the fall of the DPM government and Plahotniuc's departure from the country, criminal prosecution actions against him, incriminating his involvement in the bank robbery has followed. In October 2019, Vlad Plahotniuc was announced in an international and interstate search, the request to be searched on Interpol channels for the arrest and extradition of the accused, being sent to the General Secretariat of the

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

ICPO. On 23 July 2020, the File Control Commission of the ICPO Interpol General Secretariat informed the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova about the refusal to include the former DPM leader Vladimir Plahotniuc in the list of people announced in the international search and decided to delete his data from the databases of the organization.

Alleged properties

Despite the fact that his name is not mentioned in the founding documents, there is a rumor that Vlad Plahotniuc is the owner of the most luxurious hotel in Chișinău – "Nobil". It was also said that he owns "Codru" hotel and "Asito" Insurance Company, "Drive" Night Club from Moldova. Moldova Agroindbank is the Codru hotel's current owner, and it announced that the hotel will become the bank's headquarter.

Criticism and allegations

In June 2015, former Prime Minister of Moldova

Ion Sturza Ion Sturza (born 9 May 1960) is a Moldovan politician and businessman who served as Prime Minister of Moldova from 19 February to 12 November 1999. On 21 December 2015, President Nicolae Timofti nominated Ion Sturza to occupy the position of prime ...

, stated in a TV talk-show that " ..Republic of Moldova is a captured state, and it is controlled by Plahotniuc ... In October 2015

Petru Bogatu Petru Bogatu (12 July 1951 – 22 March 2020) was a journalist, essayist, political analyst and writer from the Republic of Moldova, unionist and pro-occidental orientation, editorialist at the ''National Newspaper'', professor at the State Uni ...

, a Moldovan op-ed columnist, wrote hard criticism in Plahotniuc's address, stating that he lahotniuc"has usurped the central country's administration", and "has subordindate to him prosecutors and judges, subjugating this way country's constitutional institutions. As a result, he transformed the state into a private firm, and the justice – into a

gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

for the intimidation and burial of his political opponents." However, these statements are no an impediment for him to be employed by the TV Prime channel that belong to Plahotniuc. Several media sources have called him ''oligarch''.Oligarhul cu dublă identitate, Vladimir Plahotniuc a speculat o breșă din lege / Vezi aici cum poate scăpa cu basmaua curată
28 January 2011, adevarul.ro. Retrieved at 6 May 2011 The former Prime Minister, Vlad Filat, has called him "The puppeteer" ( ro, Păpușarul) being accused for traffic of influence over all Moldovan political class. He constantly draws criticism from Moldovan analysts, NGOs, and columnists, such as journalist

Natalia Morari Natalia may refer to: People * Natalia (given name), list of people with this name * Natalia (Belgian singer) (born 1980) * Natalia (Greek singer) (born 1983) * Natalia (Spanish singer) (born 1982) Music and film * ''Natalia'' (film), a 198 ...

, who called out Plahotniuc for being "pro-Plahotniuc and pro-corruption". On 21 September 2017,

Maia Sandu Maia Sandu (; born 24 May 1972) is a Moldovan politician who has been the President of Moldova since 24 December 2020. She is the former leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) and former Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 2019 un ...

, the chairperson of the

Party of Action and Solidarity The Party of Action and Solidarity ( ro, Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate, PAS) is a liberal political party in Moldova. The PAS was founded by Maia Sandu, the former Minister of Education and the incumbent president of Moldova. A pro-Europea ...

, submitted to the

Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova The Office of the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Procuratura Generală a Republicii Moldova) is a government institution in Moldova, that works within the judicial power. It carries out and promotes observance of the rule of l ...

a criminal denunciation on Vladimir Plahotniuc, accusing him in usurpation of state power through the seizure of all state government powers through blackmail and corruption. On 11 October 2017,

Mihai Ghimpu Mihai Ghimpu (born 19 November 1951) is a Moldovan politician who served as Speaker of Parliament and Acting President of Moldova from 2009 to 2010. He was member of Parliament of Moldova from 1990 to 1998 and from 2009 to 2019. Ghimpu held the p ...

, the chairperson of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, has reassumed at the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

some of these accusations and has complained on the fact that Plahotniuc controls the justice in Moldova and abusing this is intimidating political opponents. Ghimpu's statements come as a reaction to the arrest of Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca (25 May 2017), to whom was incriminated an act of corruption, traffic of influence and excess of official authority in the case of Toll Parking in Chisinau, as well as the arrest of the Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure, Iurie Chirinciuc (28 April 2017), the case regarding it contains 3 incriminations: passive corruption, abuse of official position and illegal extraction of mineral resources. On 13 January 2020, the State Secretary of US,

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

, has announced that Vladimir Plahotniuc and his family members are on the list of declared

persona non-grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

in the US. Later, on 11 Juny 2020 Plahotniuc has contested legally this decision at a New York court. On 16 June 2020, the General Persecutor of Moldova,

Alexandr Stoianoglo Alexandr Stoianoglo (born 3 June 1967 in Comrat) is a Moldovan politician. Biography He was a member of the Parliament of Moldova in 2009-2014 and has been Prosecutor General of Moldova since 2019. On 5 October 2021, he was arrested under al ...

, asked the US authorities the extradition of Plahotniuc in Moldova. According to political analyst

Vladislav Kulminski Vladislav Kulminski (born 24 October 1972) is a Moldovan politician. Kulminski has been referred to as an expert in internal affairs and national security. Furthermore, as of 2021, he was president of the Institute for Strategic Initiatives (IPI ...

, Director of the Institute of Strategic Initiatives, "the request of the Moldovan Prosecutor's Office was issued on the basis of an inapplicable agreement, and this proves to some extent its political, but not legal, origin." At the same time, he states that "extradition from the USA is possible only if there is a bilateral extradition agreement, which clearly stipulates the crimes for which a person can be extradited. There is no such agreement between Moldova and the USA".

Personal life

Plahotniuc is married to Oxana (née Childescu) with whom he has two sons. His wife, Oxana, is the daughter of the Moldovan painter and sculptor Emil Childescu.

Multiple identity

At the beginning of 2011, shortly after his election to Parliament, Romanian newspaper ''

Adevărul ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published dur ...

'' unveiled the fact that Plahotniuc has

Romanian citizenship The Romanian nationality law addresses specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between Romania and the individual. Romanian nationality law is based on '' jus sanguinis'' ("right of blood"). Current citizenship policy in Romania is in ...

, being registered under the name of Vlad Ulinici, and previously as Vladimir Ulinici. He explained this fact by "wanting to protect his children against discrimination during their studies in Romania". Later, he announced that he had requested that his name be changed to Plahotniuc in his Romanian documents as well. For the use of the false identity Plahotniuc faced criminal prosecution in Romania three years after his double Ulinici/Plahotniuc identity was revealed in ''Adevărul Moldova''. The prosecutor dismissed the criminal case because in the Republic of Moldova using a false identity is not a crime. In December 2019, it was found out that Vlad Plahotniuc has one more identity on the territory of the Republic of Moldova with the name of Vladislav Novak. The document, according to President Igor Dodon, was issued by the Public Services Agency at the request of the

Information and Security Service of the Republic of Moldova The Security and Intelligence Service of the Republic of Moldova (''Serviciul de Informații și Securitate al Republicii Moldova''; SIS) is a state body specialized in ensuring national security by exercising all appropriate intelligence and coun ...

Honours

By Decree no. 1298 of the President of the Republic of Moldova of 29 August 2007 regarding the granting of state distinctions "for the contribution to the reconstruction of the

Curchi Monastery Vatici is a commune in Orhei District, Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, ...

and the merits for the preservation and propagation of the historical-cultural heritage" was awarded with the Order "Gloria Muncii". On 24 July 2014, Vlad Plahotniuc was awarded by the former President of the Republic of Moldova,

with the highest distinction in Moldova Order of the Republic "for major contributions to attaining foreign policy goals set by the Moldovan government – political association and economic integration with

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

". He was stripped of the distinction on 18 February 2021 by the current president of the Republic of Moldova

.Retrieved 18 February 2021
/ref>

References

External links

*
Profile on parlament.md

Vladimir Plahotniuc at Democratic Party's website

Edelweiss Foundation

''Asociația Oamenilor de Afaceri din Moldova''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plahotniuc, Vladimir 1966 births Living people Democratic Party of Moldova MPs Members of the parliament of Moldova Moldovan businesspeople Moldovan philanthropists People from Călărași District Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) 21st-century Moldovan politicians Moldovan MPs 2010–2014 Moldovan MPs 2014–2018 Romanian people of Moldovan descent Oligarchs