The criminal case against the governor of ATU Gagauzia Yevgenia Guțul and a secretary of the Central Office of the former Shor Party was sent to court. The two are accused of knowingly accepting financing for the election contestant and the political party from an organized criminal group as an accomplice, IPN reports.

The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (APO) said that the criminal investigation was initiated in January 2022, based on the notification of the National Investigation Inspectorate and the Central Election Commission.

The evidence administered by the APO, the National Anticorruption Center and the Security and Intelligence Service covers the period between 2019 and 2022, when Yevgenia Guțul had worked as secretary of the Monitoring, Planning and Control Department of the party that was declared unconstitutional. Then, she purportedly was actively involved in the systematic introduction of illegal financial resources into the Republic of Moldova. The money allegedly came from an organized criminal group, mainly from the Russian Federation, through flights and land routes. The money was later integrated into the party’s activity in order to support its activity on the political arena in Moldova.

On another charge, Yevgenia Guțul, as an accomplice, between October 2022 and November 2022, coordinated the activity of local offices of the former Shor Party in districts of the Republic of Moldova. She was responsible for checking, confirming lists and remunerating participants in protests organized by the outlawed party in front of public institutions in Chisinau – Parliament Building, Government Building, Presidential Palace, Prosecutor General’s Office, etc. Thus, she intentionally accepted financing for the political party from an organized criminal group in the total amount of about 42.5 million lei

The other accomplice, who was in charge of the local Chisinau office between October 2022 and November 2022, is accused of similar acts. She deliberately accepted financing for the political party from the organized criminal group in the total amount of 9.7 million lei. The money was allocated for paying for the protests organized by the party, illegal salaries to members of local offices, etc.

According to prosecutors, the accused do not accept blame. The criminal case in 68 volumes, together with the indictment on 329 pages, was sent for substantive examination to the Buiucani Court of Chisinau City.

The offense carries punishment in the form of a fine in the amount of 57,500 to 92,500 lei or imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, in both cases with ban on holding particular positions or performing particular activities for a period of 2 to 5 years, while the legal entity is punished with a fine in the amount of 250,000 to 450,000 lei, with ban on performing a particular activity or with the liquidation of the legal entity.