Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) admitted on Tuesday, February 13, the request to lift the exception of unconstitutionality, filed by lawyers of oligarch Ilan Shor against the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeals by which the former fugitive MP was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the “Bank Fraud” case.

Thus, a petition by Șor’s lawyers will be sent to the Constitutional Court, which is why the judges decided to postpone the examination of the case until 3 April 2024.

In June 2023, the judges of the SCJ rejected as inadmissible the appeal filed by Aureliu Colenco and Denis Calaida, lawyers of former fugitive MP Ilan Shor, against the decision of the Criminal College of the Chisinau Court of Appeal of 10 March 2023, which rejected the revocation of the preventive measure in the form of preventive arrest and the annulment of the search notice for Shor.

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.

The Chisinau Court of Appeal then:

1. rejected as untimely the joint appeal of lawyers Calaida and Colenco;
2. dismissed as unfounded the appeal of lawyers Balan and Ulanov;
3. admitted the appeal of the prosecutor and the representative of the Savings Bank (BEM);
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 a period of 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.