Lawyers to Remove Guțul’s Accused Status in ‘Șor’ Illegal Financing Case

The lawyers of Gagauzia’s governor demand the cancellation of the ruling that separated the criminal case against her, as well as against the former secretary of the now unconstitutional ‘Șor’ party, from the original one, which involved 65 people. Yesterday’s hearing was postponed until next week at the request of the defense so that Guțul could read the indictment translated into Russian. ‘The prosecutors want this particular person to be quickly convicted. A crime cannot be committed without a perpetrator, but only by accomplices. If we compare the charges against Ms Tauber and Ms Guțul, it is the same period: the election campaign in Balți and the financing of the political party ‘Șor’,’ lawyer Sergiu Moraru said. On the other hand, prosecutors argue that the law provides such practice. On 27 May, the judges again decided to suspend the hearing because Evghenia Guțul received the indictment translated into Russian too late, and the lawyers asked to postpone the hearing. The case in which she and the secretary of the banned party ‘Șor’ are accused of receiving money from the criminal group ‘Șor’, including for the promotion of certain electoral competitors, reached the judges’ desk at the end of April this year. Anti-corruption prosecutors found out that from 2019-2022, as secretary of the monitoring, planning and control department of the political organization, Evghenia Guțul was actively engaged in the delivery of illegal money to Moldova from Moscow by plane and by land. According to law enforcement authorities, the funds were used to promote the now-banned party and were not recorded as party expenses. Evghenia Guțul, who attended the meeting, denied the accusations, while the former secretary of the political formation refused to comment. If the guilt of both suspects in this case is established, they face up to MDL 93,000 in fines or up to 7 years in prison with deprivation of the right to hold public office.