The Chisinau District Court recently gave controversial businessman Veaceslav Platon a 3.5-month deadline to pay state taxes as part of the examination of his claim against President Maia Sandu, regarding the defense of honor and dignity. The decision was made during a court session last week, which was the first productive session since the beginning of the examination on October 12, 2021.

On February 2, judge Octavian Dvornic refused to concretize the claims in Platon's complaint and scheduled the next meeting for May 16. Platon filed the complaint against the President in the summer of 2021, after she publicly criticized the decision to drop charges against him in a bank fraud case, for which he was sentenced to 18 years.

President Sandu stated that "Platon's group represents a danger to the security of the state" and expressed concern over the quick dropping of charges. Platon referred to the statement as "political persecution."

The first court hearing was postponed due to Platon not being legally summoned, while subsequent hearings were postponed due to the non-appearance of either the defendant or his lawyers. One meeting was postponed due to the expiration of Judge Dvornic's term.

Platon is accused in three pending criminal cases, two for large-scale frauds and one for forgery of bank cards. Despite multiple scheduled court sessions, none have been productive except for one where defense requests were submitted. The reasons for the postponements were mainly due to the non-appearance of the parties involved, with the defendant and his lawyers being the most frequent absentees. In two cases, trials took place in the defendant's absence, but recusal requests from the defense were submitted and rejected.

Veaceslav Platon left for London in July 2021 after the parliamentary election results were announced. He has been launching criticism against the Chisinau government and President Sandu from London.