The court in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, sentenced in absentia the fugitive businessman and leader of the pro-Russian opposition party "Shor"

to 15 years in prison, the president of Moldova,

, said on her Facebook page:

"Ilian Shor will spend 15 years in prison for stealing a billion, and his property will be confiscated, the Appeals Chamber decided," she wrote.

The sentencing was confirmed by the Chisinau Appeals Chamber.

"The convict must return about 288 million dollars," says a message on her website.

SEE ALSO: Moldova confirmed Wizz Air's decision to suspend flights to Chisinau airport

Shor himself called the decision illegal:

"With today's decision, the authorities will take revenge on me for the protest movement, for the fact that I and my team are fighting for a dignified life of citizens.

This decision does not bother me at all, I do not care at all.

I am not going to obey, this decision will be canceled exactly on the second day after the change of the current regime," Shor said in his Telegram channel.

SEE ALSO: The European Commission plans to recommend starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova on joining the European Union

Theft of the century and patronage of the West

Shor is one of the participants in the scandal with the withdrawal of 1 billion dollars from the banking system of Moldova, which was called the "theft of the century" in the republic.

It flared up in 2015, provoked protests in Chisinau and the fall of two governments and the ruling coalition of pro-European parties.

In Chisinau, the authorities called the protests part of a Russian conspiracy to overthrow the Moldovan government and replace it with a pro-Russian one.

SEE ALSO: Journalists found a secret Kremlin document about the capture of Moldova and the opening of a second front in Transnistria

A report by the Kroll detective agency, which investigated the theft at the request of the Moldovan government, said the money was withdrawn through Banca de Economii, Banca Sociala and Unibank, which were controlled by Shor.

He was convicted in this case, but appealed the verdict and was under judicial supervision until the final decision, which did not prevent him from leading the party and being elected as a member of parliament.

However, after another change of power in June 2019, Shor fled to Israel.

After last year's Russian invasion of Ukraine, the "Shor" party began to actively interact with the Russian authorities, deputies visited Moscow and established inter-party contacts.

After that, the party organized protest activities against the current government in Moldova.

SEE ALSO: Moldova announced sanctions against a number of Russians