The NAC and APO searches: Over 20 bribery cases in the illegal registration of vehicles with neutral license plates. An employee of the Hîrbovăț Customs Post and an ASP employee detained for 72 hours

Officers of the National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC), under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO), are conducting criminal investigation actions this morning in a criminal case targeting alleged acts of corruption committed by officials of the Public Services Agency (ASP) and the Customs Service.

According to the case files, several ASP employees, including the head of the Vehicle Registration Section in the municipality of Tiraspol within the Department of Transport Registration and Driver Qualification of the Public Services Agency, in complicity with an employee of the Hîrbovăț Customs Post and other customs officials, allegedly organized an illegal scheme to facilitate the issuance of documents required to obtain neutral license plates. The plates were issued for vehicles that did not meet the legal requirements.

Thus, to overlook legal discrepancies and expedite the procedures, the officials in question allegedly demanded and received bribes ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 euros for each car. Preliminary data show that through this criminal mechanism, over 100 neutral license plates were illegally issued. Furthermore, by avoiding the payment of import duties and excise taxes, the state budget suffered damages exceeding 23 million lei.

At this hour, extensive searches are being carried out at the homes and offices of the individuals and legal entities involved. The actions also target the headquarters of the company that allegedly imported and declared the cars, its affiliated companies, and the customs broker involved in processing the documents. During the documentation of the case, the ASP provided support to NAC officers.

Following this morning's criminal investigation actions, the ASP employee and the employee of the Hîrbovăț Customs Post were detained for a period of 72 hours and placed in the NAC detention centre.

Any person shall be presumed innocent until a final and irrevocable court decision is pronounced.