Gagauz woman sentenced to 7 years in prison

A Chisinau court has found Evgenia Gutsul, a Gagauz woman, guilty of complicity in the illegal financing of the pro-Russian party Shor, and sentenced her to 7 years in prison in a semi-closed penal colony for women.

In addition, Svetlana Popan, the former secretary of the Shor party's central office, was sentenced to 6 years in prison, NewsMaker.md reported.

In April 2024, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office sent a criminal case against Yevheniia Hutsul to court and charged her with two counts: knowingly receiving funding for an election competitor and a political party from an organized criminal group in an expanded form as an accomplice.

According to prosecutors, Evgenia Gutsul was actively involved in the systematic importation of unaccounted-for money into Moldova, which originated from an organized criminal group, mainly from the Russian Federation, by air and land flights (round trip within 24 hours). This took place between 2019 and 2022, when Hutsul worked as a secretary in the Department of Monitoring, Planning and Control of the Sor party, which was later declared unconstitutional. Later, according to prosecutors, the money was integrated into the party's activities.

On another charge, according to prosecutors, Evgenii Gutsul coordinated the activities of the territorial branches of the former Sor party, being responsible for the remuneration of participants in protests organized by the party in front of state institutions in Chisinau: Parliament, the Government, the Presidential Building, and the General Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors noted that through these activities, Gutsul received funding for the former party in the amount of more than 42.4 million lei from an organized criminal group.

Similar charges were brought against Svetlana Popan, the former secretary of the party's central office. Prosecutors stated that she received over 9.7 million lei in party funding from an organized criminal group to pay for protests organized by the party, as well as for unaccounted salaries (in envelopes) to members of territorial branches.

Кирило Бойко