Moldova’s pro-Russian party official detained at Chisinau airport

Marina Tauber, the vice-chair of Moldova’s pro-Russian party Shor, was detained on May 1 at Chisinau International Airport on her way to Tel Aviv, local news outlet Poind.md reports.

Moldova’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office called for the detention after suspecting Tauber of falsifying the party’s financial statements and helping to facilitate the illegal financing of the “criminal group” of Shor leader Ilan Shor.

The prosecutor’s office filed a request on April 28 to change the pre-trial restriction from conditional release under judicial supervision to pre-trial detention after Tauber violated the terms of her restriction conditions.

Tauber requested on April 29 that the court postpone the hearing so that she could travel to Israel.

Following her previous violations of conditions, the prosecutor’s office deemed her a flight risk and considered it necessary to detain her at the airport.

Shortly before her detention, the lawmaker posted a video message on Facebook saying that she knew she would be detained, but had planned the flight abroad to undergo ‘medical examinations’.

"I was planning to fly abroad today, the trip was planned long ago," she said.

“I need to visit a doctor, and I didn't know that there would be a court hearing in connection with the change of my preventive measure. I want to ask everyone not to worry, I am leaving for a few days and will return on Thursday morning, I also have a return ticket. I need this trip because I did not have the opportunity to do it before and did not know about the plans of the prosecutor's office.”

On April 13, the Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced the fugitive MP and leader of the Shor party, Ilon Shor, to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property worth over $270 million. The court also banned Shor from holding positions in the banking system for five years and nationalised his assets.

In 2015, Ilan Shor was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for fraud and money laundering in the notorious "$1 billion fraud" case. In 2019, Ilan Shor fled Moldova. According to some reports, he is currently in Israel.