Head of Moldova's Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office says prosecutors have 15 days available to decide whether to appeal Vladimir Plahotniuc’s sentence

Prosecutors have 15 days available to decide whether to appeal the sentence of Vladimir Plahotniuc. The prosecution will analyze the conviction judgment and then decide whether to challenge it at the Court of Appeal. The head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA), Marcel Dumbrava, today made statements to this effect, at a press conference. During the event, he provided details about the evidence that formed the basis of Vladimir Plahotniuc’s 19-year prison sentence in the Bank Fraud case.

The PA head specified that state prosecutors needed time to study all materials of the court’s decision.

“The judgment is a voluminous one; it has over 500 pages. Prosecutors will analyze it in detail, after which we will decide whether it will be appealed. Personally, I believe it is a middle-ground sentence, because the prosecution requested 25 years in prison for Vladimir Plahotniuc. We have 15 days at our disposal to make a decision in this regard,” said Marcel Dumbrava.

The judges of the Chisinau Court, Buiucani branch, on April 22 sentenced Vladimir Plahotniuc to 19 years in prison. He was found guilty of creating and leading a criminal organization, fraud and money laundering in the Bank Fraud case. Until the sentence becomes final, the preventive measure in the form of pre-trial detention has been maintained with respect to the defendant.

In addition to the Bank Fraud case, Vladimir Plahotniuc is also being investigated on other charges, including document forgery. The criminal proceedings in this case have been recently initiated based on documents seized by Greek investigators from the house the former Democratic Party’s leader was renting in Athens, Greece. The documents show that he allegedly used multiple identities, with a total of 18 false documents discovered.

Vladimir Plahotniuc has been in pre-trial detention since September 25, 2025, after being extradited from Greece, at which point the four arrest warrants issued in his name were enforced. He is presently detained at the Penitentiary No. 13 of Chisinau.