The country's anti-corruption prosecutor announced the sentence handed down on Viorel Birca in connection with the 2014-2015 fraud on charges of mass fraud and "acting in the interests of a criminal group".
Journalists were not informed in advance of the sentencing hearing and were not in attendance. Birca, unlike other figures in the case, has remained in Moldova, though it was not known whether he was in court.
Prosecutors alleged that Birca had organised several transfers abroad totalling $100 million while serving as acting chairman of the board of Banca de Economii. He denied all charges against him.
A civil case has also been launched against Birca.
A Moldovan court last year sentenced business magnate Ilan Shor to 15 years in prison in absentia in connection with the case - the sum amounted to 12% of Moldova's gross domestic product at the time.
From exile in Israel, Shor has organised opposition rallies against President Maia Sandu's pro-European administration. Moldova's Constitutional Court subsequently outlawed a political party bearing his name.
Another alleged figure behind the fraud, Vlad Plahotniuc, had tremendous influence over all aspects of Moldovan public life before leaving the country in 2019. He also remains at large and is believed to be in Northern Cyprus.
More than 30 outstanding cases remain before the courts.
The fraud case continues to reverberate in Moldova's politics a decade after the events.
Moldova's parliament last month dismissed central bank chief Octavian Armasu for failing to act to recover the money lost in the scandal.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; Editing by Ron Popeski and Stephen Coates)
By Alexander Tanas
