The Appeals Court’s decision by which Ilan Șor was sentenced to 15 years in jail is final and executory, said the deputy head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office Octavian Yakimovski. According to him, the decision can be challenged in the Supreme Court of Justice, but this Court does not examine the evidence provided by prosecutors and only pronounces on the correctness of the procedure. By their statements, the politicians haven’t influenced the evolution of this case and the Appeals Court’s judgment is based on evidence only, IPN reports.

The deputy anticorruption prosecutor noted that the Supreme Court of Justice’s decision is not necessary for Ilan Șor to be arrested and taken to the penitentiary to serve his sentence as the Appeals Court’s decision is executory.

“The Appeals Court’s decisions are final and executory all over the Republic of Moldova. When the Supreme Court of Justice pronounces on the case, the decision becomes irrevocable. As from May 30, the defense and the prosecution will have two months at their disposal to appeal the decision to the SCJ. The appeal to the Supreme Court can center only on procedural violations. The SCJ does not reexamine the evidence,” Octavian Yakimovski stated in the program “Reflection Points” on Vocea Basarabiei channel.

According to the prosecutor, the extradition of Ilan Shor from Israel is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. Whether Ilan Șor is brought home or not depends on the capacity of the state representatives to justify the necessity of the extradition.

“The Ministry of Justice formulated an extradition request to the authorities in Israel. The colleagues from the Ministry of Justice asked for a copy of the operative provisions. They will keep in touch with their counterparts from Israel so as to decide the eventual extradition procedure. Personally, I found two cases when Israel extradited the own citizens. There was at least one extradition to the Russian Federation in 2000. The legislation of Israel stipulates specifics so that Ilan Șor, if the decision remains final, executory and later irrevocable, after the case is examined by the Supreme Court, can choose the place where to serve his time in jail,” explained Octavian Yakimovski.

He denied the accusations that the Șor case is political in character, noting that the Appeals Court’s decision was taken based on the conclusive evidence presented by prosecutors.

“The politicians have their political agenda. They make statements they consider appropriate, but I can assure you that this case wasn’t influenced politically by far and I’m convinced that the judges weren’t either influenced politically to pass the judgment they passed. We are sure of the evidence we presented and of our arguments,” stated the prosecutor.

On April 13, the Appeals Court found Ilan Șor guilty in the billion dollar bank fraud case and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. The lawyers for Ilan Șor announced their intention to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court of Justice.