1429 Views On November 3, 2023, the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters, pronounced the sentence in the criminal case referred to justice by the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office, which concerns the actions of the head of the Buiucani gas exploitation sector, accused of committing the crime of bribery (art. 333 para. (1 ) from the Criminal Code).
The criminal case was started in May 2023, by the National Anticorruption Center, based on a whistleblowing, and according to the materials, the defendant, being the head of the Buiucani gas exploitation sector within Chișinău-Gaz, exercising duties, detected the unauthorized connection of the whistleblower's residence to the natural gas network. Accordingly, not to fulfill his duties and not to start the procedure for applying the sanctions and penalties, he claimed and received from the informant the amount of 5000 euros, being detained at the time of receiving the money.
The trial of the case lasted 5 months, the defendant admitting his guilt of committing the incriminated act and, at his request, the criminal case was examined based on the evidence administered during the criminal investigation phase.
Thus, by the sentence of November 03, 2023, the court found the defendant guilty of committing the crime of bribery, imposing a penalty in the form of a fine of 125,000 lei, with the deprivation of the right to hold positions in state institutions and commercial organizations for a period of 2 years.
At the same time, the court ordered the transfer of the funds in the amount of 5,000 euros, which constitute the object of the bribe, to the state budget after the finalization of the sentence.
The sentence can be appealed to the Chisinau Court of Appeal within 15 days.
Note: A person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court decision.