A delayed flight put a Greek Australian couple in the middle of the arrest of an internationally wanted fugitive, accused of defrauding an entire nation of approximately AUD 1.38 billion.

Last Tuesday, as reported in Reuters and Kathimerini, Moldovan and Greek police confirmed that Vladimir Plahotniuc, a fugitive businessman and former political leader, was arrested at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport on an Interpol notice. Also arrested was his former political ally and ex-kickboxing champion, Constantin Tutu.

Plahotniuc fled Moldova in 2019, as he faced a series of corruption charges, including complicity in a scheme that led to approximately AUD 1.38 billion disappearing from a Moldovan bank in 2014, equivalent at the time to about one-eighth of the country’s annual GDP.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

That flight happened to include John and his wife Tina (not their real names), a Greek Australian couple returning to Australia after a holiday in Rhodes.

“We just put a bag up the top and sat down,” John told Neos Kosmos.

Tina was initially excited by the prospect of an empty seat next to her. But then, John said, “This guy asked something to the flight attendant who then came and sat next to her.”

According to John, Tina “got pissed off; she goes, ‘Now I’ve got someone sitting next to me. I was hoping for that empty chair—my luck anyway.'”

John, on the other hand, was intrigued.

“The guy looked very familiar. He had a Patek Philippe watch—at least $150,000—a Louis Vuitton hat… he was dressed in expensive stuff.”

John noticed he spoke Greek with a slight “eastern European accent”.

Suddenly, John saw three men in black T-shirts board the aircraft and head to the man sitting next to Tina.

“Casual dressed, like they were going to a cafeteria or a baraki”

“One started to ask the man questions,” John said.

“They talked perfect English, with a Greek accent.”

“They went to the man and said, ‘You need to collect your things’.”

At the time, the suspect was on FaceTime with someone, but the undercover cops grabbed his phone, turned it off, and began putting his belongings into a bag, said John.

“Next, they handcuffed him and asked him several times, ‘Have you got any other luggage on board? Or in the overhead compartment?'”

One of the officers then addressed the passengers: “No one gets up. We’re going to go check everyone’s luggage.”

Though the three men never identified themselves, John said it was obvious they were law enforcement. No one seemed to show much interest and it was all “very efficient” John said.

“Some people didn’t realise what was going on,” he said. “I turned around and looked at everyone, and some were oblivious.”

“They asked everyone, ‘Where’s your luggage? What colour is it? What exactly is in it?'” John said.

They eventually located a small suitcase and even dismantled the seat Plahotniuc had occupied.

“Terrorism crossed our minds,” John said. “But someone dressed up like that? I doubt it would be a terrorist.”

When they landed home, John did an online search and found reports of the arrest of the Moldavian national Plahotniuc.

“I pointed to a photo of him and asked Tina, ‘That’s the guy, isn’t it?’ And she goes, ‘Yep, the same.'”

Plahotniuc had been living in a villa in Saronida, eastern Attica. He held a genuine Greek ID and passport obtained through fraudulent means and had a Greek driver’s licence.

A police search of the property yielded approximately €155,000 in cash (AUD 277,264), 17 fake passports and IDs from various countries, data storage devices, mobile phones, laptops, and four luxury watches.

Surveillance revealed that the suspects had changed residence frequently, with Plahotniuc reportedly travelling to 22 different countries since 2023.

On Sunday afternoon, the two men called a taxi with minimal luggage and headed to the airport. Police delayed their departure long enough to execute the arrest gates on a non-Schengen flight.

On him, Plahotniuc, had Bulgarian travel documents, €2,670 (AUD 4,776) in cash, two phones, a laptop and digital storage devices, the police later said. His associate Tutu carried forged Romanian and Bulgarian documents, money, and phones.

Both men are set to appear before a Greek prosecutor next Wednesday.

It’s a yarn John and Tina will be retelling for years —a delayed flight home that came with a front-row seat to an Interpol arrest on a plane about to take off from Athens’ International Airport.