The National Anticorruption Center and the anticorruption prosecutors are investigating a criminal case, initiated on January 4, 2021 for abuse of office, committed by a number of public persons within the Agency of Intervention and Payments for Agriculture. The officials are suspected that by a prior agreement with the beneficiaries of subsidiaries and third parties, they set up a group, be means of which they received illicit income from the Agriculture Fund for Rural Development (AFRD), as well as from other external sources. The scheme of receiving financial means results in the positive evaluation and approval for payments by AIPA of the application to subsidiaries, against legal norms.

According to the materials of the criminal investigation, it was found out that, in the period 2019-until present, the decision makers of the Payment Authorization Department of the AIPA, together with other high level leaders of the Agency, would have paid subsidiaries from the AFRD and from the projects of external financial assistance (over 100 million lei) including from the World Bank, to some solicitors that do not meet the mandatory conditions and eligibility criteria. Following the documentation of the case, it was established that several companies that received the subsidiaries are run by the relatives and intermediaries, who were in the conflict of interests with the public officials responsible for authorizing the payments. It was also found that several companies benefited from subsidies, contrary to legal norms, after agreeing to send to AIPA officials a commission of 10 percent of the value of the subsidies obtained.

Based on the evidence administered during the criminal investigation process, this morning, the NAC officers and anti-corruption prosecutors searched the offices and homes of AIPA employees, as well as the offices of subsidized enterprises and households that benefited from subsidies and were favored. by AIPA employees. Thus, criminal prosecutions were carried out at the offices and residences of the Deputy Head of the Agency for Intervention and Payments for Agriculture, the Head of the Payments Authorization Department and the Head of the Project Administration and Approval Department, but also at the office of the Executive Director of the National Federation of Farmers of Moldova. At the same time, the headquarters of 17 companies, which benefited from subsidies, were searched. These are enterprises and peasant households with headquarters in Chisinau, Rascani, Donduseni, Anenii-Noi, Straseni, Comrat, Floresti, Nisporeni, Telenesti and Orhei. The NAC officers and prosecutors have gathered evidence relevant to the case, including: electronic media for storing computer data, documents, correspondence, draft registrations of subsidy files, as well as money.

All persons are to be heard by prosecutors and the NAC.

We will come back with details.