Two former IFPS employees, investigated by the NAC and APO, sentenced for influence peddling after allegedly demanding and receiving money to influence Supreme Court judges

The Chișinău Court, Buiucani headquarters, has handed down a guilty verdict against two former employees of the Principal State Tax Inspectorate (IFPS), who were found guilty of committing the offense of influence peddling.

The court imposed a fine of 125,000 lei on each defendant, along with a complementary penalty prohibiting them from holding public office for a term of 3 years.

Additionally, the court ordered the joint recovery (in solidum) of 22,000 lei from the defendants, representing money derived from the commission of the crime.

According to evidence gathered by the National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC) jointly with the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO), in the summer and autumn of 2016, the two defendants, one working as a chief inspector of the Internal Security and Anti-corruption Directorate of the IFPS, and the other as a deputy head of the Legal Assistance Directorate of the IFPS, allegedly demanded money from a former head of the Causeni State Fiscal Inspectorate, who was contesting his dismissal in court.

They allegedly claimed to have influence over certain judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and that, in exchange for the money, they could induce them to reject the appeal filed by the IFPS. This was intended to uphold the decision of the Chișinău Court of Appeal, which was favourable to the plaintiff and would have reinstated him to his position while awarding him back pay for the period of forced absence from work.

For this purpose, the defendants allegedly received an initial installment of 10,000 lei. Subsequently, they requested an additional 75,000 lei, but received only 12,000 lei.

The state prosecutor is to decide within 15 days whether to appeal the sentence to the Centre Court of Appeal.

Note: A person accused of committing an offense shall be presumed innocent as long as their guilt has not been established by a final judicial conviction.