AA1203658, Passport;
054038242, Passport;
0962706018030, National Foreign ID Number
Official reason
OFAC is designating former Moldovan government official Vladimir Plahotniuc (Plahotniuc), a former Moldovan Member of Parliament who served as both de facto leader and elected chair of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM).
Plahotniuc maintained control over the country’s law enforcement apparatus to target political and business rivals. Specifically, Plahotniuc directed Moldovan law enforcement to focus investigations on individuals and entities that were in political opposition to him and the PDM in advance of elections in 2018.
Plahotniuc also used Moldovan government officials as intermediaries to bribe law enforcement officials in order to maintain their loyalty and further cement his control over Moldova. In 2018, Plahotniuc ordered Moldovan government ministers to pass and implement proposals to increase financial incentives to law enforcement, to further buy their allegiance.
Plahotniuc controlled the judicial system and used Moldovan courts to manipulate and invalidate the June 2018 mayoral election in Chisinau. In a separate occurrence, Plahotniuc closed voting stations in areas where his party was not expected to do well.
Plahotniuc also maintained control of key media outlets, further enabling his influence and ability to exert leverage over the government to target his opponents and protect himself and his allies.
Plahotniuc explicitly engaged in corrupt arrangements with Moldovan government officials. For example, Plahotniuc arranged for the relative of a high-ranking Moldovan government official to obtain a key business position, in exchange for the official’s support in appointing a Moldovan energy entity of Plahotniuc’s choosing. Plahotniuc also attempted to bribe Moldovan politicians to switch political parties.
OFAC is designating Plahotniuc pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a former government official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged in corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery. The State Department imposed visa restrictions on Plahotniuc in January 2020 under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act for his involvement in significant corruption. Plahotniuc and his immediate family members are generally ineligible for visas to the United States.
On December 23, 2016, the President signed the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Pub. L. 114-328, Title XII, Subtitle F) (the “Act”) into law. The Act authorized the President to impose targeted sanctions on any foreign person the President determines is, among other things, responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, or a government official, or a senior associate of such an official, responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption.
On December 20, 2017, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) (IEEPA), issued Executive Order 13818 (82 FR 60839, December 26, 2017) (E.O. 13818), effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on December 21, 2017.
In E.O. 13818, the President determined that serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
OFAC is issuing the Global Magnitsky Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 583 (the “Regulations”), to implement the Act and E.O. 13818, pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 13818. A copy of E.O. 13818 appears in appendix A to this part.
