The General Police Inspectorate (GPI) announced on Friday that, on February 6, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files notified the GPI’s International Police Cooperation Directorate of the acceptance of a request for an international search notice regarding “a former leader of a political party.” It refers to Vladimir Plahotniuc.
Update
On Friday evening, February 7, Veronica Dragalin, head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, said: “The arrest warrant for Vladimir Plahotniuc is now visible in INTERPOL’s database after more than five years.”
“Based on the information gathered in the ‘INTERPOL’ case by the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files decided, during its session from January 27-31, 2025, to review its July 2020 decision, which had blocked Moldova’s request for a search notice,” Dragalin wrote on her Facebook page.
Initial Report
“The person meets the Commission’s conditions for data processing, and the request will now be visible to all INTERPOL member countries. It follows an appeal submitted by the International Police Cooperation Directorate and the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office in November 2024. As of today, the international search notice for arrest and extradition is visible to all member states,” the statement to the press reads.
Since April 2024, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has been investigating a corruption scheme that allegedly influenced INTERPOL’s decisions to block Red Notices and international search requests. Based on evidence and new circumstances gathered in this case, in October 2024, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office formally requested INTERPOL to review its July 2020 decision. The International Police Cooperation Directorate (DCPI), Moldova’s central authority for INTERPOL cooperation, then submitted an official request to INTERPOL to reconsider its refusal to issue an international search notice for Vladimir Plahotniuc.
On November 25, 2024, the new head of DCPI informed the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office of INTERPOL’s decision to accept Moldova’s request for a case review. As a result, the person concerned and his lawyers will have the opportunity to present their arguments. Moldova will also be able to justify again why this criminal case is legal, legitimate, and by INTERPOL’s Constitution.
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It is worth recalling that in October 2019, at the request of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, DCPI asked INTERPOL to issue a search notice for Vladimir Plahotniuc. He was subject to an arrest warrant for money laundering in connection with his role in the banking fraud scheme in Moldova between 2013 and 2015, which led to the embezzlement of over one billion dollars from the banking system and the state budget. This investigation, known as the “Bank Fraud” case, remains under the jurisdiction of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office.
In July 2020, INTERPOL’s Commission informed Moldova that, following a request from Vladimir Plahotniuc, it had reviewed the case and decided to reject Moldova’s request, removing all data concerning Plahotniuc from its system. Additional requests from Moldova regarding Plahotniuc in 2021 and 2022 went unanswered.
The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, in coordination with national authorities, will continue to make every effort to ensure that individuals involved in its criminal cases are placed under international search, arrested, and extradited to Moldova to face justice.