Moldovan parliament speaker talks about former president of Gagauzia's people's assembly

The court states that Dmitri Constantinov, former Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, stole 46 million lei. He chose to flee to the Transnistrian region and to invoke his advanced age, which is not an argument. Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu today made statements to this effect.

The official urged Dmitri Constantinov to return to the right bank and admit his guilt.

“For some time, he was preparing and seeking attention elsewhere, and since he did not find it, he has now appeared in the public space. We are waiting for him at home. I believe that, at his age, it is not good to be on the run, who knows where. Therefore, I think he should return home, say that he was wrong, and not be a fugitive at 70,” Igor Grosu specified.

The former speaker of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia, Dmitri Constantinov, in late December 2025 was sentenced to 12 years in a closed-type penitentiary. In addition to the prison sentence, the court banned Constantinov from holding certain positions for five years and ordered him to pay damages of 46 million lei.

According to the investigation, between 2017 and 2020, while he was director of a commercial company in Comrat, Dmitri Constantinov allegedly acted together with other persons to authorize unjustified transfers of funds to a company where his son was employed. Prosecutors claim that fictitious contracts were concluded, through which the company managed by Constantinov was driven into insolvency, with the estimated damage exceeding 46 million lei.

Immediately after his conviction, the General Police Inspectorate opened a search case for Dmitri Constantinov. He is to be located, detained and brought before law enforcement authorities.

On November 14, 2025, Dmitri Constantinov announced that he was resigning from the position of speaker of the People’s Assembly (local parliament) of Gagauzia. He said that the decision was a personal one and was due to health problems. Constantinov’s resignation came almost at the same time as the expiry of the legislative term in Comrat.