An appeals court in Moldova has sentenced businessman and politician Ilan Shor in absentia to 15 years in prison. The verdict “will help further our demand that he be extradited,” chief corruption prosecutor Veronica Dragalin said in a television interview on Thursday. Shor is currently in Israel, where he fled in 2019.
The 36-year-old oligarch is the leader of a political party in Moldova that bears his name. For months he and his party have been organizing street protests against the country’s pro-EU government.
Authorities in Chisinau say the demonstrations are part of a Russian campaign to oust the incumbent government and replace it with a pro-Kremlin administration.
The verdict will help our demand that he be extradited.
Chief Prosecutor in charge of corruption Veronica Dragalin
Shor fled to his native Israel after being investigated in the so-called “theft of the century” case. He is accused of having swindled a billion dollars (around 900 million euros) from local banks – a sum that corresponded to about 12 percent of Moldova’s gross domestic product at the time.
A first court ruling from 2017 provided for a prison sentence of seven and a half years for money laundering, fraud and abuse of trust. The court of appeal in the capital has now doubled this sentence.
Shor condemned the decision in a video on the online service Facebook. It described the verdict as “illegal” and announced that it did not want to respect it.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu said the verdict against Shor would help the judiciary in one of Europe’s most corrupt countries “regain legitimacy”.
The US in October imposed sanctions on Shor and other Moldovans over corruption or alleged collaboration with Russia to undermine democracy in the country.
The Finance Ministry said Shor worked with Russia to sabotage Moldova’s accession to the EU. (AFP)
