The hearing in the case of the former president of the Administration Board of Banca de Economii Ilan Shor, which was set to take place at the Cahul Town Appeals Court on June 12, was postponed. A new hearing was arranged for July 24, IPN reports.

“The COVID-19 situation in Cahul district is now very serious. A number of employees of the Appeals Court got infected. We, lawyers Kolenko and Calida, filed an application to the court to ensure our protection against COVID-19. I think the court decided it is better to put off the hearing than to allow all the participants in the trial to contract the virus,” lawyer Aureliu Kolenko has told IPN.

The previous hearing, set for May 22, was postponed for the reason that the lawyers for Ilan Shor asked to transfer the case.

Aureliu Kolenko said they asked that the case should be transferred from the Cahul Town Appeals Court because President Igor Dodon, before the meeting of end-May, said he knows that Ilan Shor will be convicted. The defense considers this is interference on the part of the President and the government in the work of the judiciary. Another reason for the request is the video showing a state official discussing with the president of the Cahul Town Appeals Court.

A decision as to the transfer of the case is to be taken by the Supreme Court of Justice. If the lawyers’ request is accepted, the case could be moved to the Bălți City Appeals Court or the Comrat Town Appeals Court.

In June 2017, Ilan Shor was sentenced to seven years and a half in jail for causing damage to the state by swindle and abuse of trust. The sentence was appealed and Shor was transferred from house arrest under judicial control. In February 2018, the case was transferred to the Cahul Town Appeals Court. In July 2019, immediately after the PDM conceded power, Ilan Shor fled Moldova in breach of the ban imposed of him. A new criminal case was started against him for illegally leaving the country. On August 15, 2019, Parliament decided to lift his parliamentary immunity.