An unofficial courier of a political party, investigated by the NAC and APO, was referred to justice

The Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO) has completed the criminal investigation and sent to the court for examination the criminal case in which a courier who was working unofficially in the interest of a political party is accused of providing means or instruments to knowingly accept financing for the political party from an organized criminal group.

According to the evidence accumulated by the National Anti-corruption Centre (NAC), jointly with the Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office, the accused, acting according to a criminal scheme and coordinated in advance with vice-presidents of the political party, acting unofficially as a courier, allegedly sent from a bag containing several bags of money to the secretary and vice-president of the territorial organization of the political party in the Rîșcani sector of Chișinău municipality a bag with the amount of 1,500,000 lei. Subsequently, they divided the money into smaller amounts and sent it to the representatives of the territorial organization and primary organizations of the party in the Rîșcani territorial office.

According to the same scheme, the accused allegedly sent the vice-president of the Balti territorial office of the political party money in the total amount of 41,100 dollars, equivalent to 788,709 lei, money intended for paying the people mobilized by the Balti territorial organization of the party to participate in the protests organized by the political party in the Chisinau municipality, including in tents. Subsequently, the money was divided into smaller amounts and sent to the coordinators of the primary organizations of the party in the Balti territorial office.

In these circumstances, through his intentional actions, the accused, as an accomplice, committed the crime of providing means or instruments in order to knowingly accept financing of the political party from an organized criminal group.

The criminal case was finalized in the absence of the accused, who was announced as wanted.

For the crime committed, the law provides for the punishment in the form of a fine ranging from 42,500 to 67,500 lei or imprisonment from 3 to 6 years.

Note: A person accused of committing a crime shall be presumed innocent until his guilt is established by a final court decision.