The Prosecutor’s Office of Moldova has requested authorization to arrest the leader of the parliamentary faction of the opposition party “Shor” Marina Tauber. This was reported by the official representative of the control authorities, Mariana Kerpek. Ms. Tauber was arrested last Thursday, July 21, in connection with two criminal cases.

The political party “Shor” was founded on June 13, 1998 under the name “Republican Social and Political Movement “Equality”. In 2016, the party was renamed the political party “Shor”. In 2019, party leader Ilan Shor found himself at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal and left the country.

“The anti-corruption prosecutor’s office has asked the court for meru interceptions in the form of provisional arrest for a period of 30 days,” Ms Kerpek said in an interview with TASS. As a ministry official explained, Ms. Tauber is involved in two criminal cases. One of them concerns the financing of parties by a criminal organization, and the second – falsifications of the financial report of parties for the first half of 2022.

Ms Tauber believes the prosecutor’s office’s decision is behind the ruling Action and Solidarity party, led by interim president Mayei Sandu. The politician expressed her willingness to cooperate with the investigation “to restore justice”.

Yesterday, July 22, supporters of the “Shor” party staged a protest at the office of the Prosecutor General’s Office in Chisinau, demanding the release of Marina Tauber. The demonstrators set up tents in front of the departmental building, but the police did not allow them to do so. In 2021, after winning the first round of mayoral elections in the city of Beltsy (the second most populous city in Moldova after Chisinau), Ms. Tauber was suspended from participating in the electoral race, which caused the indignation of politicians and experts.