Weekly Roundup Part 2: Two Unprecedented Cases in two Weeks

July 19, 2024

A Scoot-by Shooting in Chisinau

In the early afternoon of July 10th a masked man on an electric scooter rode up to a restaurant terrace in Chisinau’s Riscani district and opened fire. He fired 7 shots killing a man sitting at the cafe before riding off. The media initially reported only that the man killed was a foreigner.

Photos of the alleged shooter released by the Moldovan police

The shooter rode off and vanished. Police initially asked the public to be alert for the man and call in any sightings but not to approach as he was armed. Checkpoints were established along the perimeter of the city and cars searched through the afternoon.

In the time since the shooting the police have detained 2 persons suspected of being accomplices in the crime but not the shooter himself. Police have conducted searches of 56 hotels, 49 abandoned buildings 24 shopping centers, multiple bus stations, markets, parks, garage complexes and more.

In spite of a massive police response to an unprecedented murder in broad daylight the gunman has yet to be found.

The Victim - Izzet Eren

As prosecutors opened a case for murder they identified the victim as 41 year old Turkish citizen Izzet Eren.

London Metropolitan Police

Eren was the leader of a criminal gang operating primarily in the UK called the “Tottenham Turks.” The UK press are speculating that Eren’s murder in Chisinau was a retaliation by members of a rival gang called the “Hackney Bombers.” Allegedly, the Tottenham Turks targeted the Hackney Bombers in a May 29th drive by shooting in London that resulted in a 9 year old girl being shot and badly injured. The two gangs have a history of turf battles for control of the heroin trade and other illegal activities.

Moldova’s Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) has opened a case of “murder with extreme cruelty” and is investigating multiple angles including a settling of accounts between rival gangs.

Why was Izzet Eren in Moldova?

Mr. Eren has been on a journey. A journey that led him to a country with a “flexible” justice system.

In 2015 Eren was arrested in London with a loaded pistol and machine gun on his way to carry out a shooting. Shortly after his capture an attempt was made to break him out of custody which resulted in police shooting and killing a man suspected of also being a gang member. Eren was sentenced to 21 years in prison in the UK on weapons charges. In 2019 British authorities transferred Eren to a prison in Turkey where he was to stand trial on murder charges in that country. He escaped a month later.

Apparently Mr. Eren then made his way to Ukraine and was hiding out there when Russia invaded in February 2022. In May 2022 Eren crossed into Moldova via Transnistria and was detained on May 26th on the basis of an Interpol warrant from the UK.

The Moldovan authorities quickly began the extradition process but Eren applied for asylum in Moldova. His application was rejected by a court in October 2022 but then lingered in appeals until July 3rd 2024 when a final decision was made not to grant him asylum. During this time Erem was initially placed in pre-trial detention but was released after 6 months when the statutory limit on pre-trial detention time was hit. He subsequently lived freely in Moldova and his family traveled here to live with him.

Reports showed that in the time Erem’s asylum cases were pending the UK made 4 extradition requests - 3 through normal channels and 1 directly to the Minster of Justice.

Failures, Fallout and Recriminations

The Director of National Police Viorel Cernăuțeanu called out systemic issues in the justice system that lead to cases such as this saying:

"This case is not unique, since 2020 we have also had other people who tried to take refuge on the territory of the Republic of Moldova: stateless persons and internationally wanted citizens, under the pretext that the trial of the case takes years"

Cernăuțeanu also rather cryptically stated that among the other patrons of the cafe were former police officers "associated with a political party." He stated that these officers "who are supposed to be very good and experienced" in fact "took no action from the scene, they just got up and left." Whether the chief meant to insinuate that former officers were meeting with Erem is unclear.

Politically the case has resulted in wide spread outrage that a dangerous criminal has been allowed to freely live in Chisinau. Prime Minister Recean commented on the situation saying:

"We have found out that some foreign citizens who are wanted internationally use corruption schemes and loopholes in the system to remain at large in Moldova. Once a foreign citizen applies for asylum, he or she cannot be detained or banned from entering the country. And delaying the consideration of cases for years allows these people remain at large,"

The Prime Minister stated that since news of this case broke, checks revealed that 38 wanted foreigners are known to be in Moldova living freely pending asylum cases. Their crimes include bank fraud, tax evasion and “some violent crimes.”

MP Lilian Carp, chair of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, convened a parliamentary hearing on the situation. He initially identified 2 issues with the case. Firstly, the Bureau of Migration and Asylum failed to initiate an expedited process designed for people who pose a security risk. Secondly, Carp noted that “the judges are also to blame, as they keep postponing a decision from one meeting to another.” Internal investigations have been initiated in multiple state agencies.

The Superior Council of Magistrates (SCM) released a statement defending the judiciary saying that this accusation "does not correspond to reality." They went on to make a lengthy, if not substantive, statement that either amounted to saying the delays were the result of procedural problems outside judges’ control, or saying that this is a totally normal timeframe to consider an asylum appeals case. As is often the case in Moldova’s artfully bureaucratic language much was said but little understood.

On July 19th Parliament passed a reform on the asylum and extradition process in the first reading. This reform extends the period of allowable pre-trial detention from 6 months to 12 months and creates an additional accelerated process for litigating asylum complaints. The law would also limit appeals in asylum cases to the Court of Appeals level.

"Commander Butcher" of the “Cult of Maniac Killers” Arrested in Chisinau

If you are thinking that I made up that ludicrously implausible headline I would honestly not blame you. I assure you that it’s real but if you need more than my word check out the Washington Post.

Mikheil (Michael) Chkhikvishvili is a Georgian citizen and leader of a Neo-Nazi terrorist group called the “Cult of Maniac Killers” (or “Maniac Murder Cult”). He goes by the alias "Commander Butcher." Chkhikvishvili was arrested on July 6th in Chisinau in a joint operation between Moldovan and American law enforcement. News of his arrest was only made public on July 17th.

Chkhikvishvili is alleged to have been planning mass casualty terror attacks in New York City. According to the US Justice Department:

“The scheme involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools.”

Chkhikvishvili allegedly began recruiting for this plot last November and was initially targeting New Years as the time for the attack. US Authorities say that he forwarded detailed instructions on poison making to a person he thought was an accomplice but who was in fact an undercover law enforcement agent.

Chkhikvishvili began distributing a manifesto in 2021 called the “Hater’s Handbook.” In it he claims to have “murdered for the white race” and encourages killings of racial minorities and Jews. He specifically advocates mass killings such as school shootings, using children as suicide bombers against racial minorities and driving vehicles into crowds.

US Federal Prosecutors say that the Maniac Murder Cult is believed to be based in Russia and Ukraine but to also have adherents around the world. Prosecutors say that the group…

“adheres to a neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems ‘undesirables.’”

Chkhikvishvili has previously claimed that his goal is to make the Maniac Murder Cult “bigger than Al Qaeda.”

He is currently being held in Moldova and characterized by police as an "especially dangerous criminal." Prosecutors are preparing for his extradition to the United States. Given the spotlight shone on the justice system by the events of the last 2 weeks it is likely that this extradition will proceed quickly.

Why was Chkhikvishvili in Moldova?

We don’t know. No statements have been made by either American or Moldovan authorities explaining his presence in the country or potential activities here.

Other Crime and Justice News:

Here’s a roundup of the other top crime and justice stories of the week:

• Anti-Corruption Prosecutors will get a new office. After much wrangling between Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Dragalin and the government a building has been found for a new office. The building is on Banulescu-Bodoni near Cathedral Park and was formerly the Prosecutor General’s Office. Currently the National Integrity Authority and the Service for Prevention and Combating Money Laundering occupy the building and plans are being made for them to move and Anti-Corruption Prosecutors to move in.

• Stoianoglo’s case is headed to court. The Prosecutor General’s office announced that one of the criminal cases against Alexandr Stoianoglo has now become “unblocked” and will move to trial. In this case the former Prosecutor General is charged with various offenses related to his release of Veaceslav Platon from prison. The fact of an active trial is likely to complicate Mr. Stoianoglo’s chances in the presidential elections this fall.

• Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Dragalin shared details on the ongoing Interpol corruption case. In the case, whereby wanted criminals and corrupt Interpol officers conspired to use Moldova’s asylum system to avoid international arrest warrants, Dragalin stressed “The beneficiaries of this scheme did not even set foot on Moldovan soil. They received asylum remotely.” Her announcements are in part a response to questions about whether or not Izzet Eren was a beneficiary of this scheme. Prosecutors say that he was not.