Pro-Russian head of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul, sentenced to seven years: what is known about her and how she is connected to the Kremlin

A court in Moldova has sentenced Eugenia Hutsul, a pro-Russian leader of Gagauzia who systematically smuggled money into the country from Russia to finance the banned Shor party between 2019 and 2022, to seven years in prison in a semi-closed colony. The court found her guilty of collaborating with an organized crime group.

This is reported by Newsmaker .

Today, August 5, it became known about the decision of the Chisinau court regarding the pro-Russian Bashkhan (head) of Gagauzia, Yevgenia Hutsul. She was sentenced to seven years in prison in a semi-closed penitentiary. The sentence is related to her activities in the ranks of the banned pro-Russian Shor party, where she held the position of secretary in 2019–2022.

The court found it proven that Hutsul regularly imported cash from the Russian Federation to finance the activities of a party that had been declared unconstitutional. She was also accused of knowingly receiving money from an organized crime group – it was with this money that the party of Ilan Shor, a fugitive Moldovan oligarch, operated.

The criminal proceedings against Hutsul have been ongoing since 2024. The case was submitted to court on April 23, 2024. It contained 68 volumes of evidence confirming the systematic receipt of funding from Russia between 2019 and 2022.

Hutsul was detained on March 25, 2025 at Chisinau airport. Three days later, on March 28, the court granted the prosecutor’s request to detain her for 20 days. The preventive measure was later changed to house arrest. In court, Hutsul stated that the criminal case against her was “political in nature,” but did not comment on the verdict.

Yevheniya Hutsul will serve her sentence in a semi-closed penitentiary institution, which provides for limited freedom of movement. This means:

• living in a shared cell;
• constant supervision;
• opportunity to work;
• participation in social reintegration programs;
• the ability to leave the institution only with the permission of the administration.

This regime is mostly used for low-risk individuals or those in the later stages of their sentence. It is milder than a classic closed colony, but stricter than an open institution.

Svitlana Popan, a former secretary of the Shor party’s central office, was also sentenced in the same case. She received six years in prison. Like Hutsul, Popan has not publicly commented on the court’s decision.

Recall that the fugitive Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, who is under sanctions and wanted in his homeland, turned out to be the author of a new global scheme to circumvent sanctions against Russia .

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