Lawyer ordered to pay approximately 290 000 lei and deprived of the right to practice for a period of 2 years, in a case investigated by the National Anti-corruption Centre

The Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters, found a lawyer from Chisinau guilty of committing the crime of influence peddling (art. 326 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code). The court ordered a fine of 110 000 lei and deprivation of the right to practice as a lawyer for a period of 2 years. It also ordered the special confiscation of the defendant's account, of the monetary means resulting from the commission of the crime and of the foreign currency means recognized as corpus delicti, in total amounting to 9,200 euros.

According to the evidence presented in court, accumulated by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office jointly with the National Anti-corruption Centre, during the period 2020-2021, the defendant allegedly demanded and received monetary means in the amount of 9,200 euros from the informant, to influence public figures within the Police Inspectorate and persons with public dignity within the Prosecutor's Office, to determine them to adopt favourable solutions regarding the facts investigated regarding the informant in a criminal case concerning the falsification of documents and the illicit acquisition of a car. Subsequently, from the demanded and received amount of 9,200 euros, the lawyer returned 1,200 euros to the informant with the motivation of the impossibility of exercising the promised influence in connection with the last decision that was to be adopted in the criminal case managed by the prosecutor's office.

Although the defendant denied committing the acts both during the criminal investigation phase and during the examination of the case in court, his guilt was established by the evidence examined in the court hearings.

The sentence can be appealed to the Central Court of Appeal.

Note: The person accused of committing a crime shall be presumed innocent as long as his guilt is not established by a final court decision of conviction.