The decision to annul the EU sanctions imposed on Vladimir Plahotniuc remains in force. On Thursday, November 12, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed an appeal filed by the Council of the European Union challenging the General Court’s ruling of October 23, 2024.
The Council’s decision of April 28, 2023, imposing restrictive measures in response to actions destabilising the Republic of Moldova, which also included Plahotniuc, remains in force as of Friday, November 13, according to publicly available records, Ziarul de Garda reports.
Earlier, the General Court upheld Plahotniuc’s argument that his right to a fair trial had been violated because the Council had failed to verify whether the investigations and criminal proceedings in Moldova used as grounds for placing him on the sanctions list had respected his fundamental rights.
“His listing was based exclusively on decisions by the Moldovan authorities, while the Council failed to fulfil its ‘obligation to verify’ compliance with the applicant’s rights of defence and his right to effective judicial protection, in light of the irregularities reported in the proceedings in Moldova,” according to the law firm representing Plahotniuc.
The Council appealed the ruling, with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy intervening in support of the Council during the appeal proceedings.
The appeal was dismissed in its entirety.
“In the present case, as the General Court found in paragraphs 50 and 51 of the judgment under appeal, it is neither disputed nor capable of being disputed that the Council did not demonstrate, in the statement of reasons underlying the listing at issue, that it had verified whether the criminal proceedings referred to in those reasons had been conducted in compliance with Mr Plahotniuc’s rights of defence and his right to effective judicial protection and, a fortiori, that it had made the results of those verifications public in the contested acts.
“In those circumstances, the General Court did not err in law when it found, in paragraph 52 of the judgment under appeal, that the Council had failed to fulfil its obligation to state reasons with regard to the two elements that could be taken into account in assessing whether the contested acts were well founded: first, the existence of criminal proceedings in Moldova concerning offences related to the misappropriation of public funds and their illegal export; and, second, criminal investigations and prosecutions in the ‘Bank Fraud’ case and concerning the ‘bribery of the former President of the Republic of Moldova’.
“In view of all the foregoing considerations, the General Court complied with the principles arising from the case law cited in paragraphs 46 and 53 above, concerning the review of the legality of the grounds on which the contested acts were based. Consequently, the General Court did not err in law when it found, in paragraphs 52 and 55 of the judgment under appeal, that the Council had failed to fulfil its obligation to state the reasons underlying the listing at issue, nor did it err in law when it annulled the contested acts,” the Court of Justice concluded.
On May 30, 2023, EU foreign ministers adopted a decision imposing sanctions on Ilan Shor, Gheorghe Cavcaliuc, Marina Tauber, Vladimir Plahotniuc and Igor Chaika for actions aimed at destabilising the Republic of Moldova. The measures were introduced under an EU sanctions regime established at the initiative of Romania’s Foreign Minister.
The sanctions included travel bans, the freezing of funds and economic resources, and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to individuals or legal entities responsible for actions or policies undermining or threatening Moldova’s sovereignty and independence.
Plahotniuc subsequently filed a lawsuit against the Council of the EU. In April 2024, the EU extended sanctions against 11 individuals, including Plahotniuc, with the restrictions remaining in force until April 2025.
Vladimir Plahotniuc left the Republic of Moldova in June 2019, after the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), which he led, relinquished power to a coalition formed by the ACUM Bloc and the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM). That coalition collapsed in November 2019.
Plahotniuc was also sanctioned by the United States in 2020 and Canada in 2023 over acts of systemic corruption and efforts to destabilise the Republic of Moldova. The measures include bans on entering both countries and the blocking of any financial assets he may hold there.