Vladimir Plahotniuc

The Chisinau Court of Appeal ruled in a decision issued on Monday evening that fugitive Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc must stand trial in his absence in the 'Grand Theft' case of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system between 2012 and 2014.

The Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor to 15 years in prison in absentia for his key role in the so-called "Grand Theft" of one billion US dollars from Moldovan banking between 2012 and 2014.

The director of Moldova's National Anti-Corruption Centre, Iulian Rusu, announced on Monday evening the seizure of oligarch Ilan Shor's assets in the country.

"The seizures applied by the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency reached the amount of 1.5 billion lei [about 75 million euros]. These are properties from Moldova," Rusu told TV8.

Pro-Russian former Moldovan President Igor Dodon was detained by prosecutors on Tuesday on four charges including corruption and treason.

Investigators searched Dodon's Chisinau home, his mother's house and a villa being built by the Dodon family by the Dniester River, seizing tens of thousands of euros in cash and half a million lei [25,000 euros], anti-graft prosecutors said.

Moldovan anti-corruption prosecutors and officers from the Intelligence and Security Service SIS on Wednesday searched the homes of 13 former Communist Party, PCRM, deputies, and detained four of them on suspicion of corruption and illicit enrichment.

Moldova's pro-EU government amended the law on company ownership on Wednesday to end offshore secrecy and enforce maximum transparency about companies operating in or from Moldova.

The General Prosecutor's building in Chisinau, Moldova, August 18, 2021. Photo:EPA-EFE/Doru Dumitru

Moldovan anti-graft prosecutors detained General Prosecutor Alexandr Stoianoglo on Tuesday night for 72 hours on four charges related to corruption and abuse of power.

Moldova's former Defence Minister and head of the Police General Inspectorate, Alexandru Pinzari, was detained by prosecutors on Friday after Security and Intelligence Service after officers searched his home.

Moldova's pro-Western President, Maia Sandu, has accused the Interior Ministry of following her family members as the campaign starts for the early parliamentary elections to be held on July 11.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that the circumstances justifying the dissolution of parliament have been met, enabling President Maia Sandu to sign the dissolution decree and bringing early elections closer.