KYIV (Reuters) -Moldovan business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc, detained in Greece on a warrant linked to a $1 billion fraud case, landed in Moldova's capital Chisinau after being extradited, local
Moldovan Tycoon Plahotniuc Extradited and Arrives in Chisinau
Plahotniuc's Extradition and Political Context
KYIV (Reuters) -Moldovan business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc, detained in Greece on a warrant linked to a $1 billion fraud case, landed in Moldova's capital Chisinau after being extradited, local media said on Thursday.
Details of the Extradition
NewsMaker.md outlet, broadcasting live from the airport, showed how people in dark uniforms led a man in a white shirt and dark cap, whose hands were tied behind his back, out of the plane and put him in a car.
Implications for Moldova's Elections
Plahotniuc's arrival comes days before a high-stakes parliamentary election in Moldova, where the ruling pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) will likely struggle to keep its majority amid voter satisfaction with economic pain and slow progress on fighting corruption.
Background on Plahotniuc's Case
Plahotniuc, a former lawmaker and considered one of Moldova's richest men, is one of the chief suspects in Moldova's so-called "theft of the century", the disappearance in 2013 of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system: the equivalent at the time of 12% of the ex-Soviet state's GDP.
Plahotniuc has denied wrongdoing.
Plahotniuc was arrested on July 21 at the Athens airport after boarding a plane to Dubai. Greek police acted on an Interpol notice issued in February which states that he held 16 passports, including from Romania, Mexico and Russia.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by)
