Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is in a pre-trial detention centre in Greece, has said that he “unconditionally agrees” to be extradited to Moldova. His lawyer Lucian Rogaci said this after Moldova’s attorney general’s office said Plahotniuc had refused extradition.
“The request was addressed to the competent judicial authorities in Greece and confirms Vladimir Plahotniuc’s expressed willingness to openly co-operate with the international judicial process in order to settle legal proceedings quickly and without delay,” Rogaci wrote on Facebook.
According to him, his client “is ready to use all legal possibilities at his disposal to return to Moldova”.
Rogac represents Plahotniuc in the oligarch’s only criminal case that has gone to trial in Chisinau. He is being tried for his involvement in the “theft of a billion” from three Moldovan banks in 2014. In other episodes under investigation, the former Democratic Party leader is accused of setting up a criminal organisation, fraud, money laundering on a large scale and abuse of power.
The extradition request filed by Moldovan authorities is being considered by the Court of Appeal of Athens. A similar request has been filed by Russia, which has two criminal cases against Plahotniuc – for attempted murder (he allegedly planned the assassination of Moldovan politician Renato Usatii, who is also a Russian citizen) and for international drug trafficking. Plahotniuc faces life imprisonment on these charges.
Vladimir Plahotniuc, who fled Moldova in 2019, was detained by Interpol on 22 July at Athens airport. He was placed under arrest for 40 days in a prison in Greece.