Fugitive MP sues state for salary after corruption sentence
Sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption, and having disappeared before his verdict was pronounced, former MP Alexandr Nesterovschi is now suing the state to demand his parliamentary salary.
Nesterovschi appealed the Court of Appeal's decision to withhold 75% of his MP's salary, following his unexcused absences from 14 plenary sessions in 2023. Although the Chișinău Court of Law rejected the request as unfounded in March, his lawyers are pushing for the sanction's annulment.
In the same month, the court found Nesterovschi guilty of large-scale passive corruption, committed in the interest of an organized criminal group, and of preparing the illegal financing of political parties.
In addition to the prison sentence, Alexandr Nesterovschi was fined 500,000 lei, deprived of the right to hold public office for 12 years, and authorities confiscated $35,000 in illegally obtained funds.
It is worth noting that on March 19, independent MP Alexandr Nesterovschi was sentenced to 12 years in a closed-type penitentiary, after being found guilty of passive corruption, as well as preparing and accepting illegal financing for a political party from an organized criminal group. The sentence was handed down in the defendant's absence.
According to prosecutors, Nesterovschi received money and other benefits from the organized criminal group led by Ilan Șor in exchange for leaving the Bloc of Communists and Socialists and contributing to the formation of a new political faction. At least $35,000 allegedly reached him for this purpose, along with plane tickets to Tel Aviv and a significant position in the "Renaștere" Party, controlled by Șor.
Furthermore, the investigation also uncovered another episode: Nesterovschi's attempt to lure former MP Arina Spătaru into an illegally financed political project. Prosecutors allege she was taken to Israel, where she had a direct meeting with Ilan Șor. Shortly after her return, Nesterovschi allegedly offered her $50,000, 100,000 lei, and a special mobile phone for secure communication with the Șor group.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
