The 15-year prison sentence handed down by the Chisinau Court of Appeal to Ilan Shor was decided by a panel of judges made up of Ion Bulhac, Silvia Gârbu and Marcel Juganari.

Shor, on the judges who sentenced him: “They will end up behind bars very, very soon”

Ilan Shor, the MP and leader of the Shor Party, who fled Moldova in June 2019 after the fall of the Plahotniuc regime, dodging justice, threatened the three magistrates who sentenced him, immediately after the information about the sentencing decision was made public.

“The magistrates who took this decision will end up behind bars very, very soon. I would like them, watching this video, to know, that I and my sympathizers will certainly not forget how under pressure today an illegal decision was taken, in violation of all legal norms,” said Shor.

He left Moldova in June 2019, just after the fall of the Plahotniuc regime, and has been in Israel since then. Șor is also a citizen of this state, which, according to the Constitution, does not extradite its citizens.

Ion Bulhac, judge since 2002

The conviction decision in the Shor case was issued by a panel of three judges: Ion Bulhac, reporting judge, Galina Moscalciuc and Marcel Juganari.

Ion Bulhac was the reporting judge in the Shor case. Bulhac was appointed judge in July 2002. Until December 2004 he worked at the Anenii Noi Court, after which he was transferred to the Ciocana Court in Chisinau. In April 2017 he was appointed as a judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeal.

Silvia Gârbu, judge since 2003

Silvia Gârbu was appointed as a judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeal in 2017. Initially, her candidacy was rejected by then President Igor Dodon. Subsequently, the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) proposed her candidacy again, so the president was obliged by law to sign the promotion decree. Silvia Gârbu has been a sitting magistrate since 2003, when she was appointed to a five-year term at the Buiucani Court, mun. Chisinau. She was subsequently appointed until she reached the age limit.

Marcel Juganari, judge since 2008

Marcel Juganari was appointed judge on 13 May 2008. By presidential decree of 11 December 2019, Juganari was appointed as a judge at the Chisinau CA. Previously, he worked in the Ialoveni Court, being also the president of the court, and since January 2017, he was appointed for a four-year term as vice-president of the Hincesti Court, after the Ialoveni and Hincesti courts were merged.

Shor’s lawyers announce that they will appeal the decision to the SCJ, but are not counting on a favourable ruling for their client.

The decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal that Ilan Shor was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the “Bank Fraud” case will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ). The announcement was made by Ilan Shor’s lawyers, who stress that the court judges issued the decision under immense pressure from the current government. Moreover, his defenders are convinced that Ilan Shor will win at the ECHR, says a statement by the Shor Party.

Aureliu Colenco (left), one of Șor’s lawyers, is a former judge and former president of the Economic Court of Appeal, accused at the time of making several controversial decisions.

“We believe that the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal does not correspond to the facts of the criminal case, the laws of the Republic of Moldova and the Criminal Code. The judges took this decision under extreme pressure from the government. The lawyers presented all the available evidence which, unfortunately, was taken into account. We are convinced that, under these circumstances, Ilan Shor’s lawyers will win this criminal case at the European Court of Human Rights (n.r. European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). I am convinced that this institution will bring clarity to this case. Unfortunately, this will be a lengthy process, but given that Ilan Shor is a politician and a Member of Parliament, we will insist that the case against him be examined as a matter of urgency,” said Aureliu Colenco, one of Shor’s lawyers.

The decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice, although Ilan Shor’s lawyers say they are not counting on a favourable ruling for their client, the Shor Party announced in the same press release. “The Supreme Court of Justice will be made up of judges appointed by the government. Everyone sees what is happening in the justice system. Unfortunately, we are in a situation where decisions are taken in inconsistency with the facts of the criminal case, with the laws of the country, but in accordance with the orders of the government given to the magistrates,” said lawyer Aureliu Colenco.

The decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal in the Shor case, six years after the first court’s sentence: 15 years in prison with execution in a closed penitentiary and damages of 5.2 billion lei to be reimbursed to the Banca de Economii Bank.

On Thursday, April 13, 2023, at 17:55, after two days of judicial debates, CA Chisinau pronounced the decision in the Șor case, which is part of the ,,Bank Fraud” case, in which Ilan Șor was found guilty and was definitively sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in a closed prison, with deprivation of the right to hold positions in the banking system for 5 years. According to the decision, Ilan Shor is to repay more than 5.2 billion lei to the Savings Bank, a statement from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said.

The Chisinau Court of Appeal has:

1. dismissed as untimely the joint appeal of lawyers Calaida and Colenco;
2. dismissed as unfounded the appeal of lawyers Balan and Ulanov;
3. admitted the appeal of the prosecutor and the representative of the Savings Bank (BEM);
4. quashed in part the judgment of the first instance, with a judgment in the manner prescribed for the first instance, whereby:

• Ilan Shor was found guilty of committing the offence under Article 190 para. (5) of the Criminal Code (fraud), with the imposition of a sentence of 12 years imprisonment, to be served in a closed prison, with deprivation of the right to hold office in the banking system for 5 years;
• Ilan Shor was found guilty of the offence referred to in Article 243(2) of the Criminal Code. (3) of the Criminal Code (money laundering), with a sentence of 6 years’ imprisonment, to be served in a closed prison;
• Under Article 84 of the Criminal Code, impose a final sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment in a closed prison, with deprivation of the right to hold office in the banking system for a period of five years.

The term of imprisonment will be calculated from the time of detention, including the period of custody. BEM’s civil action was admitted in full, with the collection of 5.29 billion lei from the defendant’s account, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

Arrested in May 2015, Ilan Shor was sentenced in 2017 to seven years and six months in prison for fraud and money laundering, but the court ordered that the sentence would only come into effect once it became final. Since 2017, for six years, the case has been before the Chisinau Court of Appeals and the Cahul Court of Appeals, with Shor’s lawyers asking several times for the criminal case to be transferred for consideration.