The criminal case against Emma Tăbîrță, former deputy governor of the National Bank of Moldova in the “Bank Fraud” case, sent to trial

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (AP) announced on 19 April that it has sent to court the criminal case against the former deputy governor of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM), Emma Tăbîrță, accused of “complicity in the commission of the crime of fraud, committed with the use of her official position, by a criminal organisation, as well as money laundering, committed by several persons, with the use of their official position, by a criminal organisation, in particularly large proportions”.

The criminal prosecution on the case was finished as early as February 7, 2023, and so far the defense party has been granted time to acquaint itself with the materials of the criminal case which contains 149 volumes, according to the PA.

“According to the evidence administered, prosecutors found that the criminal organization, led by Vladimir Plahotniuc was made up of several organized criminal groups, including the organized criminal group led by Ilan Shor. The latter in turn controlled de facto, through intermediaries, the banks BC Unibank SA, BC Banca Socială SA, Banca de Economii SA,” the AP reports.

Therefore, during 2014, according to anti-corruption prosecutors, the deputy governor of the NBM Emma Tăbîrță, as a person affiliated with the criminal organization, removed obstacles and provided the necessary tools to carry out the embezzlement of money at the disposal of BC Unibank SA, BC Banca Socială SA and Banca de Economii SA, including by approving in the governing bodies of the mentioned banks persons affiliated with the organized criminal group led by Ilan Șor and by not intervening in the defective activity of these banks.

“These facts allowed members of the criminal organization to steal money in the amount of about 2,544,782,105 MDL and to integrate the stolen money into the legal circuit of Moldova and other countries,” the AP announced.

On September 22, 2022, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office referred the episode of the “Bank Fraud” criminal case in which a former governor and another former deputy governor of the NBM were targeted. The AP continues the criminal prosecution in the “Bank Fraud” case.

The person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court decision.

Decision of the Chisinau CA in the Shor case, six years after the first court’s sentence: 15 years in prison with execution in a closed penitentiary and damages of 5.2 billion lei to be reimbursed to the Savings Bank

On Thursday, 13 April 2023, at 17:55, after two days of judicial debates, the CA Chisinau pronounced the decision in the Șor case, which is part of the “Bank Fraud” case, in which Ilan Șor was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison, in a closed prison, with the deprivation of the right to hold positions in the banking system for 5 years. According to the decision, Ilan Shor is to repay more than 5.2 billion lei to the Savings Bank, a statement from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said.

The Chisinau Court of Appeal has:

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 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.

Arrested in May 2015, Ilan Shor was sentenced in 2017 to seven years and six months in prison for fraud and money laundering, but the court ordered that the sentence will only come into effect after it becomes final. Since 2017, for six years, the case has been before the Chisinau Court of Appeals and the Cahul Court of Appeals, with Shor’s lawyers asking several times for the criminal case to be transferred for consideration.