Photo: Facebook/Ilan Șor

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has informed the Israeli authorities that former fugitive MP Ilan Shor has already been convicted, according to the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru told Radio Moldova’s “360 degrees” programme.

According to her, the Chisinau authorities are now preparing the final documents to send to Israel, requesting again the extradition of Ilan Shor, sentenced to 15 years in prison, with execution in a closed prison, for fraud and money laundering in the “Bank Fraud” case.

“The request for Ilan Shor’s extradition took place in the framework of the criminal case, in which the Court of Appeal has handed down a sentence of conviction and the admission of the civil action for confiscation of assets. Immediately after the Court of Appeal handed down the conviction decision, the Israeli authorities were immediately informed that his status had changed, as he had already been convicted, i.e. there is a final judgment against him which is being enforced”, said Veronica Mihailov-Moraru.

lan Șor, the leader of the “Șor” Party, who fled Moldova in June 2019 after the fall of the Plahotniuc regime, was sentenced on 13 April 2023 by the judges of the Chisinau Court of Appeal to 15 years’ imprisonment in a closed prison, with deprivation of the right to hold office in the banking system for 5 years. According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Ilan Shor is to repay more than 5.2 billion lei to the Savings Bank, a statement by 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. the appeal of the prosecutor and the representative of the Savings Bank (BEM) was allowed;
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.

Immediately after the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, Shor threatened the three magistrates who sentenced him. “The magistrates who took this decision will very, very soon end up behind bars. I would like them, watching this video, to know that I and my supporters will certainly not forget how under pressure today an illegal decision was taken, in violation of all legal norms,” said Shor.

Shor left Moldova in June 2019, immediately after the fall of the Plahotniuc regime, and has been in Israel since then. Shor also holds the citizenship of this state, which, according to the Constitution, does not extradite its citizens. Although he was a member of parliament, Șor did not attend any meetings convened by parliament.