The President of the Ocnița Territorial Office of a former political party, investigated by the NAC, APO and SIS, was sentenced to 4 years in prison

The Chișinău Court, Buiucani seat, pronounced the sentence of conviction regarding the president of the Ocnița Territorial Office of a former political party, regarding the commission of the crime of complicity in knowingly accepting financing of the political party from an organized criminal group.

The court imposed a prison sentence of 4 years to be served in a semi-closed penitentiary and deprived him of the right to hold leadership positions in political parties or their organizations and to exercise financial administration or logistical organization activities within political formations and associative entities with political purposes, for a period of 4 years.

Until the final sentence is rendered, the preventive measure of preventive arrest was applied to him, being taken under guard from the courtroom.

Also, from the defendant's account, the confiscation for the benefit of the state of approximately 1.66 million lei was ordered, as monetary means used to commit the crime. The seizure applied to the defendant's assets was maintained.

According to the evidence administered by the National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC), the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO) jointly with the Information and Security Service (SIS), the defendant, acting as President of the Ocnița Territorial Office of the former political party, knowing that it was financed by an organized criminal group, would have contributed to the acceptance of this illegal financing, providing information and resources to support the party.

Thus, the defendant would have accepted, through complicity, consciously, to receive money from the criminal group, in the amount of approximately 1.66 million lei, money obtained illegally and used for the party's activities (organizing protests and remunerating participants), with the aim of influencing politics in the Republic of Moldova and obtaining power through illegal means.

The defendant denied committing the acts throughout the examination of the case.

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.