Former company director, investigated by the NAC and APO, sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay over 800 000 lei for smuggling

The Chisinau Court, Buiucani, has pronounced the sentence of conviction regarding a company director, found guilty of committing the crime of smuggling. The court imposed a 5-year prison sentence, suspended by a 3-year probationary period. The civil action filed by the Ministry of Finance was partially admitted, the defendant being ordered to pay the amount of 815,162.21 lei. The court also ordered the special confiscation of the funds that will be obtained from the sale of the seized goods.

According to the evidence administered by the National Anti-corruption Centre and the Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the defendant, acting as a director of a company, in collusion with other persons, including employees of the Customs Service, allegedly introduced four batches of Bitcoin mining systems into the territory of the Republic of Moldova, in the names of non-existent persons, in a total value of approximately 4 million lei, evading customs control.

The defendant denied the charges throughout the examination of the case, but the court considered the evidence presented to be well-founded and found him guilty.

The sentence can be appealed to the Central Court of Appeal within 15 days.

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.