NAC Synthesis: assets worth around 8 million lei seized in a corruption case and searches of 8 customs employees

The National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) has announced, for the previous week, several activities carried out in the areas of competence. Thus, the NAC officers and prosecutors of the municipality of Balti carried out criminal prosecution actions in a passive corruption case, in which eight customs employees from the Centru Customs Office and the Leușeni Customs Post are targeted. They are suspected of having demanded and received illicit remuneration from carriers when crossing the state border. The money was demanded for various services, such as facilitating the crossing of the state border of goods without declaring them and submitting them to the payment of import duty, speeding up the process of checking means of transport and various types of goods or objects at the Leușeni Customs Post, as well as for other purposes, contrary to the provisions of the legislation in force. The individuals were escorted to the NAC headquarters for questioning.

During the reporting period, the NAC’s Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA) seized approximately 8 million lei of illicit assets, based on a delegation from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office in a corruption case. The Agency also took over the administration of 240 thousand lei of seized financial assets, in national currency and foreign currency, in criminal cases managed by the NAC’s General Territorial Directorate North, the General Inspectorate of Police and the General Inspectorate of Border Police. In connection with the parallel financial investigations conducted on several criminal cases, the CARA assessed 9 criminal assets, amounting to approximately 5 million lei, according to their market value.

On the corruption prevention component, the specialized subdivisions of the NAC reported conducting anti-corruption expertise on 22 draft laws, completing 6 strategic analyses, releasing 80 integrity records and receiving 39 calls from citizens at the National Anti-corruption Hotline.

It should be noted that, currently, in the penitentiaries of the country, there are 14 people arrested in the files managed by the NAC – 12 accused in Penitentiary 13 and 2 – in Penitentiary 11 in the municipality of Bălți. Last week, criminal investigation officers sent 3 criminal cases to prosecutors with a proposal to send them to court, and the NAC experts completed 7 judicial expertise on criminal files, another 37 requests for judicial expertise being received during one week – a record figure for 2024.