[2] He was helped to gain the throne in Iași by previous Prince Nicolae Mavrocordat, upon Mihai Racoviță's deposition by the Ottoman overlord.

He decreased taxes, but chose to continue the established policy of awarding offices to Greeks and Levantines instead of local boyars.

Thus, he faced mounting opposition from Dimitrie Racoviță, who tried to remove Scarlat by enlisting Budjak Tatars' help – he was however rejected after clashing with Ghica and his Wallachian and Ottoman allies.

With the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War came Imperial Russian occupation, forcing Grigore II Ghica to leave Moldavia briefly, in September–October 1739.

Although he tried to counter Constantin Mavrocordat's intrigue at the Porte, Ghica was deposed and exiled in 1741, gaining the throne for a final, brief time in 1747–1748.