Mayor from Edineț district, investigated by the NAC and APO, sentenced to 5 years of suspended imprisonment and ordered to pay over 540,000 lei
The Edineț Court, Central Headquarters, convicted the mayor of a village in Edineț district for committing the crime of passive corruption. The court ordered a 5-year prison sentence, with a conditional suspension for a 3-year probationary period, a fine of 450,000 lei and a ban on holding public office at any level for a period of 10 years. The court also ordered the collection, from the defendant’s account, of the material damage caused to the City Hall where he worked, as well as to two other persons, in a total amount of over 90,000 lei. The amount of 2,950 lei, previously claimed from a city hall employee, was confiscated for the benefit of the state, and the seizure applied to the defendant's assets was maintained.
According to the evidence administered by the General Territorial Directorate North of the National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) and the Northern Office of the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO), in 2019, the defendant, acting as mayor, allegedly forced the City Hall accountant to pay persons, indicated by him, undue remuneration for services that were not, in reality, provided. In two other cases, he allegedly assigned his salaries to persons who provided services, thus causing a total damage to the city hall and the injured parties of over 90,000 lei.
He also, in December 2021, during a discussion with the guard of the local Culture House, under the pretext of avoiding her dismissal, allegedly demanded a monthly portion of her salary for the year 2022. In this context, the defendant personally received from the employee the amount of 2,950 lei - part of her salary for the month of January 2022. Although he denied committing the acts, the court considered the evidence administered to be well-founded and found him guilty of committing the crime of passive corruption.
The prosecutors also accused him of committing the crime of abuse of office, which was ultimately qualified as a contravention provided for by art. 312 of the Contravention Code, in connection with the amendments to the legislation relating to the value of the damage. The court terminated the trial in this part, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for holding the contravention liable.
The sentence is not final, it can be appealed to the Northern 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 of conviction.