First court session in Vlad Plahotniuc's case held in his absence

The first court session in the case of Vlad Plahotniuc took place today at Chișinău Court, Ciocana headquarters. The arrest warrants previously issued in his name were to be communicated during the session. Vlad Plahotniuc did not appear at the court hearing.

Prosecutor Alexandru Cernei emphasized that the court received two requests: one from the accused, citing health reasons, and another from the lawyer, who requested the case be examined in the absence of his client.


'The court, after verifying the health certificates and determining that the accused's condition is satisfactory noted that he refused to exercise the right to become acquainted with the arrest warrants in front of the judge. Consequently, the court decided to proceed with the hearing in the absence of the accused. During the session, the arrest warrant devices were presented, and copies were handed over to Vlad Plahotniuc's lawyer,' said Alexandru Cernei.


Additionally, the prosecutor stated that the warrants pertain to cases in the criminal investigation stage.


'It concerns an episode from the Bank Fraud case, Metal Feros, and passport blanks. There is also a court warrant under examination at Buiucani Court in a session scheduled for 10:00 AM,' explained Alexandru Cernei.


Meanwhile, Lucian Rogac, Vladimir Plahotniuc's defender, mentioned that he requested time to examine the accusations, after which more declarations would be made public.


'We will make statements at the appropriate time. The accusations have been brought to us, and we have requested time for Vladimir Plahotniuc to review them and will later make statements. It is a considerable volume of text to be assimilated,' stated Lucian Rogac.


Meanwhile, around 09:42 AM, the police were notified via the Emergency Service 112 that the Buiucani Court's building in the capital was allegedly mined. This is the court where the session on Vladimir Plahotniuc's case was to take place at 10:00.


'The call was made by a man. All specialized services immediately went to the scene to conduct checks following protocols,' stated Cristina Talpă, press officer of the capital police.


Former democratic leader Vladimir Plahotniuc, involved in numerous criminal cases was extradited to the Republic of Moldova yesterday morning. He was picked up from the airport and escorted to Penitentiary No. 13, where he was informed of the charges in the cases against him.


	
Vladimir Plahotniuc officially accused of fraud, money laundering, leading criminal organization