According to Veronika Dragalin, head of the Anti-Corruption Attorney General’s Office, following the court decision, Chisinau has increased the chances of the defendant being extradited from Israel, where he has been staying for the past few years.
Pro-Russian politician Ilan Shor, leader of the party of the same name in Moldova, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. This was announced by President Maia Sandu on Thursday, April 13.
The decision was rendered by the Chisinau Court of Appeal, convicted in absentia and given an additional sentence. He was involved in a bank fraud case.
“Ilan Shor will serve 15 years in prison for stealing a billion and his property will be confiscated as decided by the Court of Appeal,” Maia Sandu wrote.
Ilan Shor will have to return 5 billion lei ($276 million) to Banca de Economii in addition to his prison sentence.
“Only in this way can justice be justified by legal decisions that punish thieves and do justice,” the Moldovan President said.
The pro-Russian politician is currently in Israel, but the head of the Moldovan Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office Veronika Dragalin said in a comment to local television that Chisinau will insist on extradition.
“More than 7 billion lei were seized, but not only Ilan Shor’s property. The property belonging to Ilan Shor is worth about 1 billion lei. I think now that we have a final decision, this will help to discuss why it was necessary to extradite him and bring him to Moldova.”
The case of Ilan Shor: what is known
The Moldovan pro-Russian politician was put on trial in 2015 for stealing money from one of the country’s banks, according to a local edition of News Maker. He was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, but since the document was not finalized, it did not enter into force immediately.
Court hearings were constantly postponed and he managed to leave the country after a change of power in 2019.
Recall, on March 10, US intelligence reported that Russia was preparing the ground for the overthrow of power in Moldova. According to US State Department spokesman John Kirby, the anti-government rallies in Chisinau are part of the plan of the Kremlin-loyal Shor party.
Source: Focus
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