Complicity in accepting funding for the political party 'Șor'

Leonid Bîrcă, as vice president of the territorial organization Anenii Noi of the PP “Șor”, coordinated, from July 23 to October 20, 2022, the mobilization and transportation of individuals to the protests organized in the city of Chișinău. He transmitted via Telegram the lists of participants, data about the means of transport and confirmation photographs, received money from couriers, and organized the payment of protesters with 300–400 lei per day.

During the period from September 18 to October 16, 2022, he also ensured the daily participation of 15 people from the Anenii Noi district in the “City of Change,” for which 43,500 US dollars were paid, equivalent to 846,030 lei. The court established that, through these actions, Bîrcă Leonid contributed to the acceptance and integration into the party's activities of funding coming from the organized criminal group led by Ilan Șor. The total amount of seized funding was 2,906,018.06 lei.

Other property measures: Asset seizure maintained on one vehicle and 6 real estate properties (agricultural and construction) with a total value of 405,737.88MDL

First court: Conviction

Imprisonment with execution. Imprisonment: 54 months

The case was tried in general procedure, and the defendant was not present at the pronouncement of the sentence. The court of first instance ordered in this regard the search of this case from July 16, 2025. In order to reach the conviction solution, the court of first instance subjected several pieces of evidence (results of examinations, searches, special investigative measures, etc.) to scrutiny, including hearing 15 witnesses.

The case is relevant for judicial practice as it addresses acts of electoral corruption that took place in 2022, including revealing the methods of using money accepted from the organized criminal group “Șor” (organizing and remunerating individuals to participate in protests, remunerating members of PP “Șor”), the amount paid to each person for participating in protests, as well as communication methods for the preparation and prolonged commission of the acts.