Pro-Russian Shor party got banned in Moldova

On June 19, Moldova’s Constitutional Court declared the pro-Russian party, which was behind the wave of anti-government rallies, “unconstitutional,” banning the party.

Exiled billionaire Ilan Shor’s Shor party has led months of protests in the small republic bordering Ukraine. Shor, who lives in Israel, has been accused by the West and Chisinau of attempting to destabilize Moldova. The US and EU have sanctioned Shor.

According to the Moldovian court’s judgement, the party is dissolved as of the date the ruling was announced. The Moldovan justice minister will form a special commission to finish the legal procedures for the party’s dissolution.

Members of the party will continue to serve in Moldova’s parliament as independents, with no right to join other legislative factions.

Shor did not immediately react to the Constitutional Court’s judgment, but the party’s vice-chairman, Marina Tauber, did. “We will continue to rise to power with our team. This heinous process is an experience for us,” she claimed.

Shor has previously disputed that the protests are part of a plot to destabilize Moldova or a Russian threat, and he has accused Moldivian President Maia Sandu of dragging the country into bankruptcy.

Last month, the business magnate’s sentence was raised in absentia to 15 years in prison in connection with the theft of $1 billion from Moldovan banks in 2014-2015. It is the equivalent of one-eighth of the country’s annual output. The US placed sanctions on Shor last year due to his ties to Moscow.