Political

Interpol Moldova: Russia refuses to detain Ilan Șor, convicted in the "Bank fraud" case, because it is "a political case"

Russia indirectly confirms that Ilan Şor, sentenced to 15 years in prison in the "Bank fraud" case, was on its territory. At least this results from the refusal offered by the Interpol Office in Moscow to his counterparts in the Republic of Moldova regarding the detention and arrest him. The Russian authorities claim that Shor's case is a political one and for this reason it will not honor its obligations as a member state of the Interpol organization. The head of Interpol Moldova claims that the answer is absurd and aberrant.

According to Viorel Țentiu, a week ago, the Interpol office in the Republic of Moldova requested the Russians to detain, arrest and extradite Ilan Șor. It happened after, according to the information provided by the Interpol office in the Republic of Moldova, Ilan Şor left Israel on a private plane, using his Israeli passport, boasted on social media that he had talks with Leonid Kalashnikov, a member of the State Duma of Russia, responsible for relations with the CIS. Shor implied that he was in Russia.

"Yesterday, we received the reply of the Russian Federation, by which the latter communicates that no measures will be taken to detain and arrest Șor, and therefore in turn invokes the provisions of Article 3 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the organization will not be involved in military, religious and political matters, the prerogative is the competence of the General Secretary and the Legal Department or the File Control Commission", said Viorel Țentiu, head of Interpol Moldova.

Viorel Țentiu said that previously, the Interpol File Control Commission analyzed a request from Ilan Șor, who asked to be excluded from the database of internationally wanted persons, and it was rejected. The members of the Commission stated that the measure imposed on Șor is in accordance with the normative acts issued by the organization, which were approved by all the member states. "What I want to tell you is that the response provided by the authorities in the Russian Federation is an aberrant and absurd one. They do not directly confirm that Șor is in the Russian Federation, but indirectly confirm that the respective measures will not be taken against him", reported the Head of Interpol Moldova.

Interpol operative information indicates that Shor is said to hold a Russian passport, which he used when he flew from the United Arab Emirates to Moscow last month. If Shor were not a Russian citizen, the Moscow judiciary should detain and extradite him, if indeed he is now in Russia. However, the Russian authorities are not transparent, mentioned the head of Interpol Moldova, Viorel Țentiu. He referred to an answer previously provided by Moscow, according to which Shor's last exit from Russia was recorded in 2014 and that he is not a citizen of the Russian Federation.

Ilan Şor fled from the Republic of Moldova to Israel five years ago. In Chisinau he is sentenced to prison in the bank fraud case. He continues to do politics from a distance and finances groups from the Republic of Moldova, supported by Russia. Earlier, the international publication Bloomberg suggested that the State of Israel should accept the extradition request of Shor, formulated by the Moldovan authorities, because Russia supports the Hamas terrorists. Ilan Sor is internationally sanctioned for financial fraud and external interference in the elections in the Republic of Moldova.

Read more