The National Anticorruption Center (NAC) is hosting, these days in Chisinau, the Annual Professional Conference and General Assembly of the European Partners Against Corruption/European contact-point network against corruption EPAC/EACN, the event that serves as an important platform to make the exchange of experience and establish contacts between EPAC/EACN members.

Prominent representatives from international organizations, members of EPAC/EACN, as well as the country's leadership gathered to establish contacts and exchange best practices on a common platform that will strengthen their efforts in countering high-level corruption, in investigating frauds generating illicit profits and in the recovery of criminal assets, hidden in jurisdictions outside the borders of the Republic of Moldova.

In her speech, the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, declared that the phenomenon of corruption threatens the security of our country, its integrity and even the lives of citizens. Her Excellency urged the participants of the Conference to join their efforts in helping the state institutions to complete the processes started in the fight against grand corruption.

"Currently, criminal groups, which have embezzled enormous funds and stolen citizens' money, are trying to stop our country from its democratic and European course. Guided by Russia, these groups are trying to undermine justice and return us to the captured state. Recently, the United States has imposed sanctions on those who have committed acts of grand corruption, so I urge you to do the same with those who hide their ill-gotten wealth in your jurisdictions. I want us to establish permanent contacts with those who can help us investigate corruption, confiscate and return stolen assets to people. When we talk about rogatory commissions, know that you can contact our anti-corruption prosecutors, when we talk about criminal prosecution - it's the National Anticorruption Center, when we talk about asset recovery - go to the Criminal Assets Recovery Agency (CARA). Corruption is a transnational crime and it must be fought with consolidated efforts", the president said.

Žydrūnas BARTKUS, President of EPAC/EACN and Director of the Special Investigation Service (STT) of Lithuania expressed his joy that this Conference is taking place in Chisinau. "The Madam President mentioned that we have a priority for the country and EPAC/EACN, as a professional network can offer the best solutions and the best expertise in the field of fighting corruption. This conference brought together over a hundred professionals in the field from 24 states and we will discuss issues, share best practices in the field. It is a good opportunity to discuss, establish contacts, find the best solutions, related to the fight against corruption in Moldova, but also in other countries on our continent", emphasized the President of EPAC/EACN.

Margret Maria UEBBER, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, mentioned that the decision to organize the annual EPAC conference in Chisinau is a strong signal for the efforts made by the Republic of Moldova in fighting corruption and advancing it on the European path. "Corruption is an impediment to the country's development, it undermines democracy and the rule of law, it affects the political decision-making process and the foundation of society. It causes substantial financial damage to the state, to the economy and is an impediment to foreign investment. I want to say that the Corruption Perceptions Index, published by Transparency International in 2022, shows that the Republic of Moldova is in 105th place out of 180 countries. It's an improvement over last year, and it demonstrates the need to address this phenomenon more firmly," said the Ambassador.

As the organizer, the director of the National Anticorruption Center, Iulian Rusu, greeted the audience and thanked the participants for the opportunity to organize this important event in Chisinau. "The commitments that we have are related to reaching a finality in the investigations that we have started in the jurisdictions that we are here. We must understand that corruption is a transnational phenomenon, and its effects spread to our countries. The only solution to achieve results is to strengthen our cooperation, exchange operational data, including for the purposes of investigations, but also for criminal prosecution, and finally to execute the confiscation of assets derived from crimes. The priority of the Republic of Moldova is all the more important, since we have become a candidate state for membership of the European Union. We internally consolidated our positions as authorities structured to fight big corruption and we will continue to develop this direction", said the NAC director.

The chief prosecutor of the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office, Veronica Dragalin, mentioned in her speech that the authorities of the Republic of Moldova chose the path of building the rule of law in a complicated context - with enormous threats and a war at the border. "I would like to emphasize one extraordinary thing. People elected leaders who put the fight against corruption on their agenda, and we, the prosecutors, have the opportunity to cement this path. We have officers and prosecutors determined to make a difference and work day and night, after hours and on weekends. We are going down this path in extreme conditions – a difficult regional context and short time to regain the trust of the citizens. And the most important thing is that we are supported along the way by the entire international community, and this gives me the assurance that we will succeed", noted Dragalin.

The event will conclude with the General Assembly and discussions on the outcomes of existing working groups/task forces and approval of new members within EPAC/EACN.

The conference is hosted by NAC and co-organized with the support of the Project "Strengthening the rule of law and anti-corruption mechanisms in the Republic of Moldova ", implemented by GIZ with funding from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).