The Chisinau court of the Cecana sector issued an arrest warrant for 30 days Ilan Shor in the case of illegal financing of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) party. The court made a decision on April 24 at the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Moldovan authorities also sent a request for international legal assistance to Russia to notify Shor of the charges. According to investigators, he is now hiding in the Russian Federation.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Shor is accused of organizing illegal financing of a political party from prohibited sources, including from the money of an organized criminal group, as well as inciting it.
According to investigators, Shor, “acting with direct intent and realizing the illegal nature of his actions, tried to illegally finance a pro-European party in order to maintain control over political and social processes in Moldova.”
Prosecutors claim that through former deputy Alexander Nesterovsky, Shor contacted ALDE leader Arina Spataru and invited her to create or lead a pro-European party. According to investigators, he assured that “the organized crime group will support the party and will finance the new political force.”
After Spataru’s trip to Israel, Nesterovsky, under the supervision of the investigation, gave her $50 thousand, 100 thousand lei and a telephone number to contact Shor.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Shor later recruited two more people to create or lead a pro-European party to participate in local elections.
The investigation believes that Shor financed ALDE for $452.7 thousand, or more than 8 million lei.
Spataru’s comment
ALDE leader Arina Spataru commented on the arrest warrant for Ilan Shor for NewsMaker. She said she was waiting for “fairness and justice.” “Things are moving, albeit slowly,” Spataru said.
She noted that employees of the National Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the SIS, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and judges worked on the case. She said they faced “personal risks, intimidation, surveillance, threats and a lot of pressure.”
“In 2023, I participated in this investigation as an undercover agent. I did not take any money from Shor – neither then nor since. I did this because I believe that Moldova must get rid of political corruption and the influence of criminal groups. Three years later, I see things moving forward. Slower than they should be, but they are moving,” Spataru said.
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