After six years of searches, Vlad Plahotniuc was escorted from the plane on which he landed in Chișinău into the van that will take him to Penitentiary No. 13. The moment took place on Thursday, September 25, 2025, and was captured by the RLIVE team.
The former politician, 59 years old, was detained on July 21 at Athens airport while trying to board a plane to Dubai. The action was based on an Interpol alert issued earlier this year, which mentioned that Plahotniuc held multiple passports, including from Romania, Mexico, and Russia.
His extradition to the Republic of Moldova was decided by the Greek authorities at the request of Chișinău. Moldovan prosecutors accuse Plahotniuc of involvement in an organized criminal network, money laundering, bribery, and fraud — cases related to the disappearance of approximately one billion dollars from the country’s banking system.