NAC Synthesis: detentions, searches and convictions in corruption cases, as well as seizures of criminal assets worth over 30 million lei

The National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) has reported several activities in the last two weeks in the fight against and prevention of corruption. Several searches and detentions were carried out by the Centre’s subdivisions, but also seizures were applied by the NAC in corruption cases, money laundering, scams, etc.

Specifically, the Centre and prosecutors announced the criminal investigation of a former mayor of the village of Taraclia de Salcie in Cahul district and a businessman for damaging the state budget by over 630 000 lei. They allegedly falsified and submitted to the Agricultural Intervention and Payments Agency (AIPA) documents regarding the damages caused by the drought for the years 2022-2023, illegally collecting over half a million lei. In another case, a woman from the capital is being investigated for influence peddling for demanding 3000 euros for a driver's license. In another high-profile case investigated by anti-corruption officers, a former director of the Stray Animal Shelter Center in the municipality of Balti was detained for causing damage of over 360 000 lei to the municipal budget. This was allegedly calculated in the names of accomplices in salary payments, who were fictitiously employed by the enterprise and never showed up for work.

During the reported period, the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters, pronounced several sentences in the files investigated by the NAC. Thus, in the first case, 3 individuals were found guilty of committing the crimes of influence peddling, active corruption and passive corruption. In the second case, in which two men are accused of knowingly making a false statement in a criminal trial, the court sentenced one of them to 2 years in prison, and the second was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison. We note that at the moment, 8 people, targeted in the Centre’s files, are arrested and detained in penitentiary institutions in the municipalities of Chisinau and Balti.

In the same period, the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA) of the NAC announces the seizure of illicit assets worth about 7 million lei. These were seized based on the delegations of the General Directorate for Criminal Investigation of the NAC, the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), the General Inspectorate of Border Police (IGPF) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Hincesti Prosecutor's Office, the Cantemir Prosecutor's Office, the General Inspectorate of Police (IGP) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 40 assets were seized in cases of embezzlement of foreign assets, money laundering, passive corruption, abuse of power, organization of illegal migration and fraud. Also last week, at the request of the PCCOCS prosecutors, through the collaboration of the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency of the NAC, in relation to 15 members from Chisinau and Cahul of an organized criminal group, accused of smuggling and money laundering, seizures worth over 23,500,000 lei were applied to the houses, lands and cars of them and their interposed relatives.

In the field of corruption prevention, the Legislation Directorate finalized and submitted to the authors 25 expert reports and 3 opinions on draft normative acts, last week. The NAC notifies the completion of 4 operational analyses, the reception of 27 calls to the national anticorruption line and the registration of 2285 materials in the Centre’s Chancellery.