Vlad Plahotniuc says the drug trafficking charges brought against him in Russia represent one of the threats against him and his family, calling them “fantasies”.

The former leader of Democratic Party posted to Facebook that Moscow is also putting pressure on Moldova to “fabricate proceedings after proceedings” against him, and that many are forced to “give false testimony” in order to intimidate him.

“All these things (...) explain very well the reason why I decided to take precautionary measures in this period”, writes Vlad Plahotniuc from a self-imposed exile in an unknown location.

According to him, what the public opinion should be worried about is not what will happen to him, but what will happen to the country.

“Even if I’m looking at all this from outside of politics, it doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about the fate of Moldovans, who were expecting a change for the better and who will soon find themselves in a country that is even deeper under foreign occupation.”

Yesterday the Russian police initiated criminal proceedings in absentia against the former leader of the Moldovan Democratic Party Vlad Plahotniuc and his protégé Constantin Țuțu on charges that include transnational organized crime and 28 counts of large-scale drug trafficking.