The lawyers for the ex-president of the Administration Board of Banca de Economii (BEM) Ilan Shor, who was sentenced to seven years and a half in jail, consider their client is fully entitled to submit an application to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over his illegal detention and groundless extension of detention. As to the sentence, the lawyers said they will challenge it in the Appeals Court, IPN reports.
The defense insists on Ilan Shor’s innocence. In a news conference, lawyer Denis Ulanov said they will go the Appeals Court and will demand that the businessman should be acquitted. The court held that Ilan Shor wasn’t the beneficiary of money stolen from BEM and that the real extent of the damage caused to the bank was of 2.6 billion lei, not of over 5 billion lei as it was announced during the investigation. This sum will be ultimately recovered from those who came into possession of the money.
Lawyer Iulian Balan stated there was presented insufficient evident to justify the placing of Ilan Shor under arrest. Therefore, Shor has the right to file an application to the ECHR over his illegal detention and groundless extension of detention. Ilan Shor, who is the mayor of Orhei, considers this is a political case aimed at preventing him from developing the party he heads.
The lawyers will pronounce more thoroughly on the sentence after the motivated part of the decision is published. This is to be made public on July 17.
The Buiucani-based Court of Chisinau on June 21 sentenced the ex-president of the Administration Board of Banca de Economii Ilan Shor to seven years and a half in semi-closed jail for causing considerable damage to the state by swindle and abuse of confidence. The same day, Shor was released from house arrest and will be under judicial control until a definitive judgment is passed. The prosecutors, who asked for 19 years in jail for the businessman, said they do not agree with the sentence and will appeal it.
