CHISINAU, August 4. /TASS/. A Chisinau court has sentenced Evghenia Gutsul, leader of Moldova’s autonomous region of Gagauzia, to seven years in prison for financial irregularities related to the funding of the Shor opposition party, the politician’s lawyer Natalya Bairam told TASS.
TASS has gathered the key information about the case.
On sentence
The court sentenced Gutsul to seven years in prison, ordering the decision to be enforced immediately.
Clashes with police
Clashes between Gutsul’s supporters and police erupted in front of the court building in Chisinau, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.
Police officers did not allow the Gagauzia leader’s husband and other family members to attend the hearing.
Charges brought
Prior to winning Gagauzia’s election, Gutsul had worked in the Shor party, which was declared illegal by the Constitutional Court at the government’s behest, and eventually dissolved. Many of the party workers joined the opposition bloc Victory. Prosecutors say that Gutsul brought money from Russia to Moldova to fund the Shor party in 2019-2022.
In April, she was also charged with receiving money from an organized criminal group, which is a term that the Moldovan authorities and prosecutors use to describe people from the inner circle of the Pobeda bloc’s leader Ilan Shor. Party worker Svetlana Popan is another defendant in the case.
Gutsul was detained on March 25, 2025, as part of another criminal case, based on charges of financial abuse during her election campaign in Gagauzia in 2023.
Gutsul’s position
The Gagauzian leader strongly rejects all of the prosecution’s claims. She slammed the case as politically motivated, linking it to the parliamentary election set for September 28. According to her, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and the Party of Action and Solidarity, which controls the government and parliament, are behind the trial.
Tensions between Gutsul, Moldovan leadership
Gutsul’s relations with the Moldovan leadership deteriorated in 2023 after she won the regional election, announced plans to boost friendly relations with Russia and criticized Chisinau’s policy of confrontation with Moscow. The country's authorities tried to declare the election illegal but Gagauzia’s parliament expressed solidarity with Gutsul and several rallies in support of the region’s leader took place there. Still, Moldovan President Maia Sandu refused to sign a decree appointing Gutsul as a cabinet member, which is required by the country’s laws.