Expert: Examination of Ilan Șor's case at the SCJ could take up to a year
Yesterday's decision by the Chisinau Court of Appeal sentencing fugitive politician Ilan Shor to 15 years in prison is enforceable, which means he can serve his sentence and his assets can be confiscated. But his lawyers say they will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Justice, and experts say it could take up to a year for the case to be heard in that court.
The Court of Appeal's decision is enforceable and Ilan Șor must be transferred to prison as soon as the ruling is handed down, the head of the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, Veronica Dragalin, told a Jurnal TV programme. She explained that the decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), but the sentence has become mandatory, so Ilan Șor can be jailed and his assets confiscated. Veronica Dragalin also says that the Court of Appeal's final decision is a strong argument for the Chisinau authorities to extradite Ilan Șor from Israel.
"The fact that we now have a final decision, we hope, that this is an argument for the Israeli authorities why he (I.Ș.) should be extradited to serve his 15-year sentence here in the Republic of Moldova. The Ministry of Justice is dealing with the extradition at the post-trial stage," said the head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.
For his part, Aureliu Colenco, one of Ilan Șor's lawyers, told Radio Moldova that the sentence will be challenged at the Supreme Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. According to him, the group of lawyers handling Ilan Shor's case are in talks with the Israeli authorities so that the defendant is not extradited, as the decision would be political.
"Based on the materials, which the Moldovan and Israeli lawyers have submitted to the Israeli Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General, it will be very difficult for the Moldovan authorities to extradite this person. We will prove to the Israeli authorities that these files and these decisions were politically dictated. On the territory of the Republic of Moldova we have nothing to prove, because we know very well what the Moldovan justice system is".
If the lawyers appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice, the examination of Ilan Shor's case could take up to a year, expert Vladislav Gribincea told our radio station.
"After such sentences people go to prison. They still have a chance at the Supreme Court, but that does not suspend execution. The appeal could be filed in two months. After that the examination of the case takes half a year, a year, minimum. The Ministry of Justice can resort to extradition, except that Ilan Șor is a citizen of Israel, and some countries do not extradite their citizens, and they can be sanctioned on the basis of the judgement, issued by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova", said the expert.
In 2017, Ilan Șor was sentenced by the first instance to 7 years and 6 months in prison in the bank fraud case, for fraud on a particularly large scale and money laundering. Yesterday, the Chisinau Court of Appeal doubled the prison term, and the decision also allows for the recovery of damages of over 5 billion lei.
In 2019, as an MP, Ilan Șor left the territory of the Republic of Moldova. According to the authorities, he is in Israel.
