President of Shor Party's Ștefan Vodă territorial office convicted for complicity in illegal party funding

The president of Ștefan Vodă territorial office of Shor political party has been found guilty of complicity in the illegal funding of the party by an organized criminal group. Chișinău Court magistrates made the decision.

According to the ruling, the court sentenced her to 4 years in prison, suspended with a probation period of 3 years. She was also prohibited from holding leadership positions in political parties or their organizations and from engaging in financial management or logistical organization within political formations for a period of 5 years. 

The court also ordered the confiscation of 2.3 million lei in favor of the state as funds used in committing the offense, as well as her mobile phone.

According to the evidence, between July and October 2022, the accused, responsible for coordinating activities of the Shor party’s territorial organization in Ștefan Vodă district, accepted illegal funding of the party by an organized criminal group led by Ilan Shor, who is wanted.

Furthermore, she contributed to organizing protests in Chișinău by mobilizing and remunerating hundreds of participants, using financial resources from illegal sources. The amounts, exceeding 2.3 million lei, were used to support the party’s activities and promote its interests on the political scene.

At the same time, she acted in collaboration with various individuals to facilitate these illegal activities. 

To disguise the source of these funds, information was communicated through encrypted channels, such as Telegram. These measures were used to hide the involvement of the organized criminal group and facilitate the continuation of the party’s illegal activities, which sought to gain political power through illicit means.

Although the accused did not acknowledge the actions committed, the court assessed the administered evidence as well-founded and determined her guilt in committing the crime. The sentence is not final and can be appealed at the Court of Appeal within 15 days.