The first hearing in the case of businessman Ilan Shor, who is the mayor of Orhei, was put off at the defense’s request. The lawyers said the indictment is large and they need additional time to study it. The defendant was summoned to appear in court on September 19, IPN reports.

The lawyers also requested to annul the home arrest order, but their application hasn’t been examined. The order expires on September 20 and the defense insists that there are no reasons for maintaining it.

Ilan Shor is accused of illegally obtaining loans of over 5 million lei from Banca de Economii (BEM) in November 2014, based on fictitious contracts signed with Russian banks. The defendant, who then headed the Administration Board of BEM, persuaded the Board members to lend money to these companies, hiding the fact that he was their de facto owner.