Vladimir Gheorghe Plahotniuc v Council of the European Union

On 23 October 2024, the European Court of Justice annulled sanctions imposed on Moldovan politician and businessman, Vladimir Gheorghe Plahotniuc. Mr Plahotniuc was designated in May 2023 under the EU’s Moldova regime relating to acts that destablise the Republic of Moldova. The Council’s designation reasons referred to “numerous criminal proceedings” for financial misconduct involving public funds, and cited two designation criteria:

• Undermining or threatening Moldova’s democracy; and
• Serious financial misconduct concerning public funds.

The Court noted the Council’s wording to explain the grounds for designation was somewhat ambiguous, so that “it is not possible to determine with certainty whether the applicant’s listing is based solely on the criterion of serious financial misconduct…or also on the criterion of undermining the democratic political process in the Republic of Moldova” [27].

The annulment upheld applicant’s claim that his right to a fair trial was violated by the Council’s failure to verify whether the Moldovan criminal investigations and proceedings, used as the basis for the listing, observed Mr Plahotniuc’s fundamental rights. The listing was based solely on decisions by the Moldovan authorities, and the Council failed to discharge its “verification obligation”, regarding applicant’s rights of defence and right to effective judicial protection, considering the submitted irregularities in the Moldovan proceedings.

Mr Plahotniuc was represented by Jason Pobjoy, who has extensive expertise in challenging and advising on EU and international sanctions.

A copy of the decision is available here.