The deputy head of a pro-Russian party was detained in Moldova while trying to leave the country.

Marina Tauber, deputy head of the pro-Russian Șor party, was detained at the Chisinau airport, Radio Free Europe Moldova reports, citing the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

Tauber was planning to fly from Chisinau (Moldova) to Tel Aviv via Istanbul. She was detained based on a prosecutor’s decision of May 1 for violating the terms of the preventive measure. Because of this, on April 28, the prosecutor’s office asked the court to change her preventive measure from temporary release under judicial control to pre-trial detention.

Tauber asked to postpone the court hearing on the change of preventive measure so that she could travel to Israel for medical treatment. The prosecutor’s office claimed that she could flee from the investigation.

“Given that the accused has already violated the conditions of the preventive measure several times, the prosecutor’s office considered it necessary to detain her at the airport, as there was a significant risk that Tauber would hide from the criminal investigation authorities,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Marina Tauber, a member of parliament and deputy head of the Şor party, was detained in July 2022. She is under investigation in the case of illegal financing of the party by an organized criminal group and falsification of the party’s financial report for the first half of 2022. Tauber pleads not guilty.

She was held in custody from July 23 to September 14, after which she was released under judicial control. In February of this year, the Court of Appeal, based on a petition filed by her lawyers, lifted most of the restrictions on her preventive measure, including allowing her to leave Moldova.

Moldova is fighting the Russian fifth column.

On April 13, the Chisinau Court of Appeal sentenced Moldovan oligarch, pro-Russian agent of influence, and leader of the Șor party, Ilan Șor, to 15 years in prison. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to the confiscation of property worth 5 billion lei ($276.7 million). Ilan Șor himself said that this was “revenge for the protests” of his party in the center of the Moldovan capital.

Ilan Șor is the leader of the Șor party, also known as the husband of Russian singer Jasmine. In 2017, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in Moldova in the case of the theft of a billion dollars from three Moldovan banks. When the verdict was appealed and the case was considered on appeal, Șor was able to flee to Israel. In 2020, Israel rejected an extradition request of Ilan Șor. However, after the United States imposed sanctions against him on October 26, the Moldovan authorities hope for his speedy extradition.

Photo: Marina Tauber. @Reuters