Yesterday 08:00

The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Moldova is sending Ilan Șor to trial in a case concerning the illegal financing of the ALDE party

Cristiana Dida

11 November 2026, 08:00

Republic of Moldova

foto: Pixabay

Always see our news on Google

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Moldova announced on Wednesday, November 11, that it had completed the criminal investigation and sent to court a new case concerning former lawmaker Ilan Șor, who was convicted and fled the country. The case concerns the alleged organization of illegal financing for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), including through sources prohibited by law.

According to prosecutors, Șor is accused of organizing and instigating the acceptance of funds originating from an organized criminal group. The investigation, conducted together with the National Anticorruption Center, alleges that he induced lawmaker Alexandr Nesterovschi to persuade Arina Spătaru to take over the leadership of a pro-European-oriented party.

The alleged aim was for the party to participate in local elections and for the group to maintain influence over political processes. The Prosecutor’s Office says that ALDE was allegedly financed with $452,700. Nesterovschi has already been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

In April, the Chișinău Court ordered Ilan Șor’s pretrial detention for 30 days. The trial is due to take place in his absence, as he is evading criminal prosecution. For the alleged offenses, the law provides for prison sentences of up to 10 years and fines of hundreds of thousands of lei.

‌,

Context: the A7 financial network, linked to Ilan Șor, was sanctioned by the US, while investigations described how restrictions were circumvented

Before being referred to court on charges related to political financing, the US Treasury Department had announced unprecedented sanctions against the clandestine A7 financial network, which Washington links to the fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Șor. US authorities indicated that A7 had processed more than 7,500 billion rubles (approximately 91.5 billion dollars) and had supported more than 2,000 transactions per day, while FinCEN proposed measures to ban transfers through the network’s sub-agents.

In addition, a Financial Times investigation reported that a financial company created by Șor at the end of 2024, with the support of Promsvyazbank, had facilitated payments for sanctioned Russian companies by using more than 100 shell companies and falsified commercial documents, with flows allegedly destined also for China, as well as payments for military equipment and security services.