Fugitive former MP Ilan Shor, sentenced in Moldova to 15 years in prison in the “bank fraud” case, is reportedly back in Moscow. According to the head of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP), Viorel Cernăuțeanu, Șor left Israel two days ago, on 25 February, and has not yet returned.

“This is something he does regularly with the Moscow route and we see very clearly that Moscow has no interest in giving us information or contributed to the detention of a person who is convicted, not only is he wanted for documentation, but he is convicted on the territory of Moldova, (…) We see all the actions he is spending. It is just that, with regret, the Russian Federation does not respect the INTERPOL Constitution. As it stipulates, the moment the alert is sent through the INTERPOL channel, the person must be detained,” Cernăuțeanu told Free Europe in an interview.

Shor has so far not posted anything on social media about his new visit to Moscow, as he did on 7 February, when he wrote that he had a meeting with the chairman of Russia’s State Duma Committee for Affairs with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Leonid Kalashnicov.

Shor was reportedly in the Russian Federation during the first two weeks of February. Chisinau received a reply from the Russian authorities in mid-February regarding the oligarch’s request for detention and extradition. The head of Interpol Moldova, Viorel Țentiu, described their response as “absurd and aberrant”.

The Moldovan official claimed that the Russian authorities were invoking Article 3 of the Constitution, which stipulates “non-involvement of the organisation in political, military, religious and racial matters”. The statements were made on Wednesday evening, 15 February, during the programme “Secrets of Power” on Jurnal TV.

“(…) I have received the response of the Russian Federation which in my opinion is absurd and aberrant. The Russian authorities invoke Article 3 of the Constitution, namely, non-involvement in the Shor case. In fact, Article 3 talks about the non-involvement of the organisation in political, military, religious and racial matters, but I would like to remind you that in 2021, the Commission for Control of Files declared that the request of the Republic of Moldova regarding the announcement of Shor’s international search with arrest and extradition is perfectly legal and corresponds to the provisions of both the Constitution and the rules of information processing.

Today (Wednesday, ed.), having received this aberrant and absurd message, the Russian Federation is not getting involved, invoking Article 3. We have asked the General Secretariat to clarify this case, because things are getting complicated (…). The Russian Federation is not honouring its obligations as a member state of the Organisation (…). We have sent a request to the General Secretariat regarding what the Russian Federation has told us and we are waiting for a position so that we can know what will be done (…)”, Viorel Țentiu said.

Former fugitive MP Ilan Shor commented to Kremlin-affiliated RIA Novosti on the possibility of moving to Russia, saying he might consider this option.

“We will see. As you know, my children and my wife live here,” Shor told the source.

On February 8, 2024, the Inspectorate General of Police (IGP) came out with clarifications regarding fugitive former MP Ilan Shor, who is hiding in Israel to avoid serving his prison sentence. He has reportedly left Israel five times, where he is a citizen, but without being detained in the countries where he arrived. Mr Shor, a citizen of the State of Israel, is currently wanted internationally through INTERPOL channels for arrest and extradition.

The last official crossing of the state border by Shor took place on 17 August 2018, on the way into Moldova.

Shor left Moldova in June 2019, just 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.

llan Șor, the leader of the former “Șor” party, who fled Moldova in June 2019 after the fall of the Plahotniuc regime, was sentenced on 13 April 2023 by the magistrates of the Chisinau Court of Appeal to 15 years’ imprisonment in a closed penitentiary, 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.