Criminal file against Moldovan MP sent to court

Chisinau, 20 June /MOLDPRES/ - The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) today informed that it had sent to court the criminal file against MP Marina Tauber and the legal entity Shor Political Party. They are charged with the forging of reports on the financing of the electoral campaign and the political party and the acceptance of the illegal financing on behalf of an organized crime ring. The sum of the party’s illegal financing represents 195 million lei (9.75 million euros).    

According to PA, the criminal prosecution was initiated in January 2022, based on a notification of the National Investigations Inspectorate (INI) and the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).   

According to the evidence, decision-makers found out that Marina Tauber, while participating as candidate nominated by the Shor Political Party for the office of mayor of the Balti city in the electoral campaign for the 21 November 2021 ballot, deliberately and in preliminary agreement with the party’s treasurer, received from the organized crime ring financial means worth 9,752,000 lei, of which she falsely introduced a sum of 740, 464.50 lei in the forms of donations on behalf of 104 private people, who actually did not donate this sum of money; she put down this forged data in the reports on the financial management of the electoral campaign, through the replacement, hiding of the donors’ identity, the volume of means accumulated and used. Subsequently, Tauber personally signed the reports and registered them at CEC.     

Marina Tauber also deliberately accepted the financing in an amount of 9,752,000 lei of the electoral contender on behalf of an organize crime ring on the period of the new local elections for the position of mayor of the Balti city from 21 November 2021.  

Marina Tauber is also accused of the fact that, in her capacity of deputy president of the Shor Political Party, in the interests of the political formation, she deliberately accepted the financing of the political party on behalf of the organized crime ring led by Ilan Shor in a total amount of 195, 518,013 lei. These illegal financial means were integrated in the work and maintenance of the party, in order to promote and fulfill the interests of the organized crime ring on the political stage of Moldova, of seizing the state power.

Thus, according to the prosecutors, about 8.5 million lei out of the overall sum of 195, 518,013 lei was transmitted under the control of the criminal prosecution body and about 9 million lei was detected and raised during searches.   

The law envisages for the offence committed a punishment in form of fine worth from 57,500 to 92.500 lei or imprisonment from 2 to 7 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain offices for a period from 2 to 5 years. At the same time, the legal entity is punished with fine worth from 250,000 to 450,000 lei, with the deprivation of the right to carry out a certain activity or liquidation of the legal entity.   

Presently, Marina Tauber is under home arrest till 30 June.