Moldovan oligarch accused of €850m bank fraud detained in Greece
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‘We do have a problem’ with integration of immigrants, Swedish PM tells Euronews
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says there is an “absolute need to get control on migration,” in an interview with Euronews. He reiterated his proposal to significantly increase the amount of money Sweden offers to migrants as a financial incentive to leave the country. The current grant is €900 per adult. In 2023, only one out of 70 applications was approved, according to the Swedish Migration Agency. To reverse this trend, a new government proposal would raise the amount to €32,000, an increase of 3,400%.
The Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, says there is an “absolute need to get control on migration,” in an interview with Euronews.
He reiterated his proposal to significantly increase the amount of money Sweden offers to migrants as a financial incentive to leave the country.
The current grant is €900 per adult. However, this initiative has had limited success so far. In 2023, only one out of 70 applications was approved, according to the Swedish Migration Agency.
To reverse this trend, a new government proposal would raise the amount to €32,000, an increase of 3,400%.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, 20 March, 2025 AP Photo
Though the concept of financial incentives for voluntary return has been in place for decades, Kristersson said he is now taking inspiration from Denmark, which has set a target group of 22,000 people.
“We are copying basically the Danish model and raising that sum pretty significantly to make it easier for those who realise that they would prefer to go back to their own country, they do not for different reasons feel that they find a well-functioning life in Sweden,” he said.
Kristersson acknowledged that the method would not appeal to many, but highlighted the underlying issue.
“I don’t think that would be a method that works for very many people, but we do have a problem with integration, and if people who have a legal right to stay in Sweden but basically do not integrate, basically do not really appreciate the Swedish way of life, then at least people would think about returning to their country of origin.”
The proposal is set to take effect on 1 January 2026.
A policeman watches over a queue of newly arrived migrants at Hyllie station outside Malmö, 19 November, 2015 AP Photo
Kristersson also expressed strong support for a regulated migration policy, such as the EU’s Migration Pact, and emphasised that rejected asylum seekers should not remain in Europe.
“Right now, we have some 80% of those have a negative decision on asylum, nevertheless they stay in Europe. That is simply unacceptable in Sweden. We have managed that, I think we have now some 20% staying even though they shouldn’t by those who have had the negative decision. So we absolutely need to get control of the migration.”
He noted that attitudes across Europe are shifting dramatically, which may make political decisions on migration policy easier. The European Commission has recently proposed measures to make the repatriation of irregular migrants more effective.
Moldovan fugitive oligarch accused of €850 million bank fraud detained in Greece
Vladimir Plahotniuc, one of Moldova’s most influential oligarchs and a key figure accused in a massive €850 million bank fraud scandal, has been detained in Greece. He is accused of complicity in a 2014 scheme that led to the disappearance of $1 billion from the country’s banking system. He fled to the United States in June 2019 after his party failed to form a governing coalition. The U.S. and the U.K. placed him under sanctions for alleged corruption, freezing his assets and banning his entry.
Plahotniuc, who fled Moldova in 2019 to evade corruption charges, is accused of complicity in a 2014 scheme that led to the disappearance of $1 billion — approximately one-eighth of Moldova’s annual GDP at the time — from the country’s banking system. He has consistently denied all wrongdoing, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Moldovan authorities reported that Interpol’s office in Athens had notified them about the arrest of two Moldovan citizens, including Plahotniuc. The second detainee’s identity has not been disclosed. Greek authorities confirmed that Plahotniuc is wanted on charges of participating in a criminal organization, fraud, and money laundering.
Moldova’s Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor’s Office are currently coordinating with Greek authorities to initiate extradition proceedings.
Plahotniuc, once the head of Moldova’s Democratic Party, was considered one of the country’s wealthiest and most powerful figures, exerting significant control over politics, business, and law enforcement. He fled to the United States in June 2019 after his party failed to form a governing coalition.
In 2020, the U.S. declared him persona non grata, and his whereabouts remained unclear for several years. In 2022, both the U.S. and the U.K. placed him under sanctions for alleged corruption, freezing his assets and banning his entry. The allegations included using law enforcement agencies to target rivals and interfering in Moldova’s democratic processes.
Plahotniuc has also been accused of backing pro-Russian political campaigns and attempting to derail Moldova’s pro-European Union course.
His arrest comes just weeks ahead of Moldova’s crucial parliamentary elections in September. Analysts suggest the development could strengthen President Maia Sandu’s pro-EU administration and her allies in Romania and Brussels, as the Kremlin is believed to be ramping up disinformation and voter manipulation efforts in the country.
Authorities in Moldova are now preparing formal extradition requests in hopes of bringing Plahotniuc back to face justice.
News.Az
One dead and seven injured after car drives into Stuttgart crowd in ‘tragic traffic accident’
The incident happened at an above-ground subway stop in Stuttgart city centre. Five people were slightly injured and three seriously injured in the accident. A 46-year-old woman has since succumbed to her injuries in the hospital, police said. Germany has seen a spate of car ramming attacks in recent years, with fears high that such incidents might repeat again. The driver of the Mercedes vehicle was apprehended at the scene, a police spokesperson said.
A group of pedestrians in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart were struck by a driver behind the wheel of an SUV, killing one person and injuring seven people, some of them seriously, police have said.
“Five people were slightly injured and three seriously injured in the accident. Of the seriously injured, a 46-year-old woman has since succumbed to her injuries in the hospital,” police said in a Friday evening statement.
In an earlier post on the social media platform X, Stuttgart Police said all evidence pointed to a “tragic traffic accident” and that they had found no evidence of an attack.
The incident happened at an above-ground subway stop in Stuttgart city centre, police said.
The driver of the Mercedes vehicle was apprehended at the scene, a police spokesperson told reporters.
The area remained cordoned off as emergency responders, police and forensic specialists examined the scene.
Witnesses were being interviewed and subway services through the area were suspended.
Photos from the scene showed plastic gloves, blankets and bags scattered on the ground near the SUV.
Police work at the scene where a vehicle collided into a group of people in Stuttgart, 2 May, 2025 AP Photo
String of car ramming attacks leaves Germans on alert
Germany has seen a spate of car ramming attacks in recent years, with fears high that such incidents might repeat again.
Two people died on 13 February after they were injured in a car-ramming attack on a labour union demonstration in Munich.
Some 39 people were injured in the attack and police arrested a 24-year-old Afghan national who came to Germany as an asylum seeker. Prosecutors said he appeared to have had an Islamic extremist motive.
On 20 December 2024, at least five people were killed and more than 200 were injured when a car slammed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg in eastern Germany.
And in June 2022, a 29-year-old man drove his car into a crowd of people in Berlin, killing one person and injuring dozens. Police identified the driver as a 29-year-old German-Armenian man.