Dmitri Constantinov

Dmitri Georgievici Constantinov (also Dmitrii; born 5 December 1952) is a Moldovan politician and businessman of Gagauz ethnicity. Born in Comrat, he became a zootechnician, owning businesses in this field and holding managerial posts in several local companies. He was a member of the People's Assembly of Gagauzia, the parliament of Moldova's region of Gagauzia, during three different legislatures, and served as the president of the People's Assembly for two terms. He was disqualified as a candidate from the 2016 Gagauz legislative election over vote buying allegations.

Constantinov held strained relations with the Moldovan government and often criticized the central authorities. He was an affiliate of Moldovan pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, promoting his projects in Gagauzia, aiding his Russian-backed vote buying and illegal party financing schemes in the country and attending the creation event of the Shor-affiliated Victory bloc in Moscow, Russia; Constantinov had his diplomatic passport revoked for over a year following the latter. On 26 December 2025, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the embezzlement of other people's wealth and forgery of accounting documents, escaping to Moldova's unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria a day earlier to evade justice.

Early and personal life Dmitri Georgievici Constantinov was born on 5 December 1952 in Comrat, in the Moldavian SSR of the Soviet Union (now Gagauzia, Moldova). He studied at the Karmanovsky Agricultural Technical College in Briceni and at the Ukrainian Agricultural Academy in Kyiv, in the Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine). Constantinov held managerial positions in several local companies He was president of the Wrestling Federation of Gagauzia and chairman of the Association of Entrepreneurs of the Comrat Municipality.

At the 2016 Gagauz legislative election, Constantinov won at the second round for the 1st constituency serving Comrat, but the results were annulled as he was accused of vote buying. His opponent Vitalie Dragoi, who filed a complaint requesting the results to be annulled, stated that several voters had admitted receiving amounts between 300 and 1000 lei. The Supreme Court of Justice of Moldova found that 59 people listed as voters were not in Moldova on the day of the election, annulling the results and disqualifying Constantinov from the election, with him denying the accusations of vote buying and stating that the case had been fabricated at the request of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM). According to him, the case was archived in 2020 as the events were not confirmed. Afterwards, Constantinov presented himself as an independent candidate in the 2019 Moldovan parliamentary election for the 45th constituency Alexandr Suhodolski would win the constituency's seat at the Parliament of Moldova instead. In December 2023, Constantinov introduced a legislative initiative to dissolve the Central Electoral Commission of Gagauzia (CEC). As a result, the CEC was dissolved, a new one could not be established and local legislative elections could not be held in Gagauzia on time two years later.

On 14 November 2025, Constantinov resigned as president of the Gagauz parliament, citing the legislature's expiration and health reasons as the motives. His resignation came less than a month after an unannounced visit by Alexandru Musteață, then head of the Security and Intelligence Service of Moldova (SIS), to Comrat on 23 October. During the visit, he discussed "the situation of Gagauzia" with regional leadership, including the upcoming elections, with Constantinov stating afterwards that he advocated for improved dialogue between Gagauzia and the central government. Constantinov denied that his resignation was related to Musteață's visit, but Vitali Gaidarji, then manager of Laf.md, argued that it might have been arranged to "free up" dialogue between Gagauzia and Chișinău, as the Moldovan government had a reticent attitude towards Constantinov. Gaidarji also stated he believed Shor's increasing role in the region could have also been discussed during the visit. On 30 December, Maia Sandu, the President of Moldova, requested legislative measures from the Government to prevent those convicted from escaping their sentences, as the lack of constitutional control over Transnistria made the ban on leaving Moldovan territory insufficient. Constantinov was not a unique case; the very same year, former Moldovan parliament members Irina Lozovan and Alexandr Nesterovschi also escaped before their sentences were handed down and went into hiding in Transnistria.

Constantinov made his first public statements since his sentencing on 16 February, in a video posted on social media. He stated "I don't hide it, I don't want to go to prison because of an unjust decision", rejecting the accusations against him and calling for an "independent review" of his case. He added that he had appealed the first instance ruling on 9 February. He also stated "when an economic litigation ends with 12 years in prison for a 73-year-old man, a big question arises whether this corresponds to European standards". Igor Grosu, then President of the Moldovan Parliament, declared that excusing himself with his age and fleeing to Transnistria was no argument and called on him to take responsibility and return to answer to justice.