Former Moldovan government official, who supposedly engaged in state capture by exerting control over and manipulating key sectors of Moldova’s government, including the law enforcement, electoral, and judicial sectors. Plahotniuc is suspected to be one of the main beneficiaries of the Billion Dollar Bank Theft of 2014. [1] [2] Plahotniuc and his close family have been the objects of a US visa ban for involvement in significant corruption since 2020. [3]
Information
| IDENTIFYING INFORMATION | Former Moldovan Member of Parliament, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Moldova, business man and oligarch. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 01.01.1966 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Moldova |
| NATIONALITY | Moldova, Romania |
| COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE | Cyprus |
| FULL NAME | Vladimir Plahotniuc |
| FIRST AND MIDDLE NAME(S) | Vladimir |
| ALIASES | Vlad Plahotniuc ; Vladislav Novak [1] ; Vlad Ulinici [2] |
| FAMILY MEMBERS | Oxana Childescu - spouse Timofei Plahotniuc - son Inochentie Plahotniuc - son Andrei Plahotniuc - brother |
| FAMILY MEMBERS SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS | None |
| SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED OVERSEAS PROPERTIES | At least 4 villas in Switzerland (Collonge), France (Sciez and Les Houches) and Romania (Bucarest) [1] |
| SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED LINKS TO LEGAL ENTITIES | Vanguard International Ltd ; Vanguard International Group LTD ; BB-DIALIZA ; GMG Production ; Longford Partners Ltd, Introstyle Solution Ltd, Rowallan Overseas, Nobil Air Limited, Tukumaan Limited, Srl Finp Invest ; Finpar Invest SR ; Otiv Trust [1] |
| SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED LINKS TO BANK ACCOUNTS | Various accounts in Victoriabank |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS FROZEN OR CONFISCATED | Over EUR24 million have been frozen by the Agency for the Recovery of Criminal Assets [1] ; a EUR4.2-million-worth real estate in Sciez, France, has been seized in 2022. [2] |
| ESTIMATES OF ASSETS RETURNED | None |
| SANCTIONS REGIMES | UK Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions [1] ; US Global Magnitski sanctions. [2] |
| START OF SANCTIONS | 09.12.2022 [1] ; 26.10.2022 [2] |