A deputy mayor of Balti and the deputy head of the Education, Youth and Sports Department within the City Hall, detained by the NAC and prosecutors in corruption cases

The National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) and the prosecutors of Chisinau have announced the conduct of over 30 searches in the north of the country, resulting in the detention of two officials of the Balti City Hall. These are a deputy mayor and a deputy head of the Education, Youth and Sports Department within the City Hall, suspected of involvement in several episodes of influence peddling, passive and active corruption.

According to the criminal investigation, the civil servants have systematically received illicit financial means from the leaders and employees of some subdivisions of the Balti City Hall, as well as from the directors of some institutions subordinate to the municipality in exchange for providing services or favours contrary to the law. During the investigations, it was also found that one of the suspects accepted a bribe of 200,000 euros to favour an economic agent.

Thus, following searches carried out in the offices and homes of officials within the Balti City Hall, as well as at the homes of several directors of educational institutions, objects and documents important for the criminal case were seized, as well as money, in different currencies, in a total amount of approximately 400,000 lei. At the moment, two people are detained and are to be placed in the Detention Centre of the NAC.

The criminal investigation actions are being carried out under the procedural leadership of the Chisinau Municipal Prosecutor's Office. It should be noted that any person is presumed innocent until a final and irrevocable court decision is rendered.