Plahotniuc: Updates on His Arrest and Potential Extradition
Plus a check-in with Veaceslav Platon who just made bail in the UK...
Vladimir Plahotniuc Arrested in Greece
Following his detention at the Athens airport on July 22nd, Greek authorities officially arrested Vladimir Plahotniuc on July 23rd. He and Constantin Țuțu are currently being held in Korydallos, the largest prison in Greece. It is a maximum security facility known for overcrowded and spartan conditions.
Both men have now been filmed coming and going from court in handcuffs. Moldovan investigative outlet Cu Sens has released footage of these transfers showing that they are transported under heavily armed guard.
New reporting has shed some light on how Plahotniuc was living during his time on the lam. ZdG reports that the luxury villa they were staying at outside of Athens advertised rental prices of $4,300 to $8,600 per night. Travel records show that Plahotniuc, Țuțu and Elizaveta Kuznetsova (aka Miss Moldova 2019) traveled together to Bulgaria in 2024. Plahotniuc and Țuțu under assumed identities, Kuznetsova with her Moldovan passport. Various reports have named her as either his wife or mistress.1 Greek media report that Constantin Țuțu was acting as a sort of body guard for the fugitive oligarch.
Searches by Greek police turned up 21 false identity documents spanning 6 different identities for Plahotniuc. In a Russian passport he is known as “KIRSANOV Stanislav,” in Romania “ANTOHE Mihai,” in Iraq “AL SHAHEEN Fereyduon Shaheen Yako” (he also had a passport from Vanuatu under this name). Constantin Țuțu also had numerous false documents and multiple identities.
The Greek press are reporting that a mistake with one of these documents led to his arrest. Under circumstances that remain unclear, Greek police came into possession of a Greek ID issued under his alias “Kirsanov” while investigating vehicle thefts at a car dealership in Western Attica. The ID was suspicious and it triggered an investigation. Details of what, if any, relationship Plahotniuc had to the car thefts remain unclear.
New Details on Plahotniuc Relationship with the Kremlin
This week investigative outlet The Insider published a report by a team including legendary investigative journalist Christo Grozev detailing Plahotniuc’s recent relations with Russia. It builds on reports from May by Malenkaya Strana (Little Country) showing that Plahotniuc regularly traveled to Moscow over the last 2 years.
His first trip was in June 2024 where he met with Dmitry Kozak to discuss his return to Moldovan politics. He traveled under one of his aliases, and his trip was facilitated by the Kremlin including the provision of an unmarked airport pickup vehicle with special license plates indicating that it should never be pulled over.
The Insider obtained flight records and checked them against the newly public list of his aliases - and one Mikhail Taushanov (citizen of Romania, Ukraine and Russia) matched. Mr. Taushanov / Plahotniuc traveled to Russia in June and October 2024, and March and April 2025. He additionally met Kozak in Minsk at least once.
These interactions were supposedly leading to a direct meeting with Putin. It is unclear if that ever happened.
In one meeting, Kozak reported told Plahotniuc “You do understand that everything that is happening now [in Moldova] is mainly your fault? You had all the power, but you played around.” To which he replied that he was working on correcting past mistakes and was ready to return to Moldova - but that he couldn’t do it alone.
It is unclear what role he was supposed to play in this year’s elections, or if he played a covert role last year2.
The entire report is well worth reading in full - it’s in English.
Extradition - to Moldova or to Russia?
On July 23rd, one day after the Greek police detained Plahotniuc, Russia placed him on the Interpol wanted list. The Russian government has clarified that he is wanted in 2 cases. First, a 2017 case where he is accused or arranging the attempted murder of Moldovan politician Renato Usatîi. Second, in a 2019 arrest warrant for large scale money laundering and drug trafficking. They are officially requesting his extradition to Russia.
Moldova’s Chief of the National Police Viorel Cernauteanu commented on this saying:
“Something tells us that the Russian request is simply an attempt to provide Plahotniuc with protection and freedom,”
On July 24th Moldova officially submitted a request for his extradition.
Viorel Cernauteanu stated in interviews that Moldova should have the legal priority here, as his initial detention was based on a Moldovan request. He also expressed hope that the Greek authorities don’t fall for Russia’s game.
But what game is all of this?
What came next was a series of unexpected twists and turns. On July 28th Moldova’s Prosecutor General stated that Plahotniuc intended to fight extradition to Moldova. Shortly after this statement, Plahotniuc’s lawyer Lucian Rogac put out a statement saying:
"Vladimir Plahotniuc has officially submitted a request in which he unconditionally accepts to be extradited to the Republic of Moldova.”
This request for speedy extradition was then presented to the Greek authorities on July 29th.
At the same time both Vladimir Plahotniuc and Constantin Țuțu are reportedly prepared to fight their extradition to Russia.
According to Lucian Rogac, Moldova’s official extradition request has not yet been registered in Greece. He stated that once it is his client could be extradited to Moldova in 12 to 30 days.
Plaha’s Back on Social Media
Plahotniuc’s lawyer Lucian Rogac is now evidently running, and creating, social media pages for his client. He posted that "from now on, all information about our client will be posted on the official pages on social networks, associated with his name."
He began opening social media accounts following the oligarch’s arrest including Telegram (July 24), Youtube (July 23), Instagram (July - no date listed) and TikTok (no date listed).
Interestingly, a new facebook page for the oligarch was created on July 18, 2025 - 4 days before he was arrested. The page lists him as a “politician.” It is now being updated by his lawyer with official statements.
Another Fugitive Oligarch in the News
Also popping up this week is Veaceslav Platon, who was released on £330,000 pounds bail by a UK court. Prosecutors had fought his requests for bail ever since he was arrested in March with the court denying the request twice, both times on account of his nearly unlimited finances and potential as a flight risk. This time it was granted, though he will be subject to electronic monitoring, home curfew and 3 day a week checkins with the police. This bail is also only extended until September 22nd (for now). His final extradition hearings are scheduled for November 24 - 28. Moldovan prosecutors have expressed confidence that he will be extradited.
Also this week, a Moscow court sentenced Platon to 24 years in prison as part of ongoing investigations into his role in the Russian Laundromat. It is unclear if they are also seeking his extradition.
Upon his release he posted a picture on Telegram writing:
“Hello, my dear friends, now I'm with you again!!! Quite beaten, but not defeated”
So this July we’ve had news from all 3 of Moldova’s most wanted fugitive oligarchs. Two are pending extradition while Ilan Shor remains in Russia putting his money laundering skills to use for the Kremlin. What comes next for Platon and Plahotniuc remains to be seen.
We’ll follow the story and keep bringing you updates as they come.
Before fleeing Moldova he had a wife and family - we don’t currently know what became of them.
It's conceivable that he played a covert financial role behind the scenes. The Insider does not report this and we don’t have any evidence of it. But having to buy his way into the Kremlin’s good graces is at least a plausible theory. For now, all we have is records of meetings and speculation.