NAC Synthesis: Case involving a bribe of half a million lei, convictions and seizures of assets worth 2.4 million lei

The National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) has announced the synthesis of the activities carried out during the previous week on the component of combating and preventing corruption, as well as on the recovery of criminal assets. Thus, four people were searched in a criminal case involving a bribe worth half a million lei. The prosecutor from the Edineț District Prosecutor's Office, targeted in this case, was placed in preventive detention for 30 days, the lawyer – 15 days, and the intermediaries will spend 30 days under house arrest. Their detention took place after the complete documentation of the criminal chain. Also, 6 people were convicted in cases managed by the NAC and anticorruption prosecutors. Three people were found guilty of influence peddling in the process of fraudulently obtaining medical certificates for a driver's license. The Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters, imposed fines totalling over 1.3 million lei. Three other people were convicted by the Cahul Court, Central headquarters, for making, possessing and using false official documents, as well as for fraud. Two of them received sentences of 8 years in prison, and the third – 7 years. During the reporting period, the criminal investigation officers of the NAC opened 9 files and forwarded 9 criminal cases to prosecutors for resolution. At the moment, 4 people are in the NAC Detention Centre, and 4 people, targeted in the Centre’s files, are arrested and detained in penitentiary institutions.

Also last week, the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA) of the NAC seized 8 assets of illicit origin, totalling approximately 2.4 million lei. These include 4 cryptocurrencies and 4 means of transport. The assets were seized in the context of passive corruption, money laundering and fraud cases, and were seized based on the delegations of the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DGUP) of the NAC and the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI). At the same time, previously seized assets worth over 2.8 million lei were confirmed by court decisions.

Several activities were carried out in the field of corruption prevention. Thus, the Anti-corruption Education Directorate organized 6 trainings for approximately 480 people. Among them are about 450 children, trained in holiday camps within the "Integrity for Children" campaign and 30 employees of the Customs Service, within a training on strengthening professional integrity and preventing corruption risks in the exercise of their duties. The NAC's Legislation Department sent 15 anti-corruption expert reports and 5 opinions to the authors of draft normative acts. The Analytical Department completed 5 operational analyses relevant to the process of identifying and preventing corruption risks.

Also, during the mentioned period, 1654 materials were registered in the NAC Chancellery, 251 integrity records were issued and 54 calls were received at the National Anti-corruption Hotline - 0 800 55555.