1631 Views On November 10, 2023, the Bălți Court, the Central Headquarters, pronounced the sentence in a criminal case referred to the justice by the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office North, which concerns the actions of a person accused of influence peddling (art. 326 para. (1), art. 326 paragraph (1), article 326 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code).
The criminal cases were initiated between September and November 2020, by the National Anticorruption Center based on three complaints.
According to the case materials, the convicted person committed three acts of influence peddling, personally accepting and receiving from the whistleblowers money in the total amount of 2000 euros and 2000 lei, in exchange for which he claimed to have influence over the employees of the Office of Transport Registration and Qualification of Car Drivers in Balti, to help obtain driving licenses for three people from the north of the country.
The criminal prosecution in this criminal case lasted 3 months, and the trial of the case lasted more than 2 years. The trial took place in the absence of the defendant because during the trial of the case he evaded the judicial examination of the criminal case in the court of law, the latter being announced as an interstate search, at the same time a preventive measure was applied to him in the form of pre-trial detention.
Both during the criminal investigation and at the initial stage of the criminal trial, the defendant did not admit his guilt and pleaded not guilty.
By the sentence of November 10, 2023, the court found the defendant guilty of committing influence peddling crimes, establishing a final punishment through the partial cumulation of prison sentences for a term of 6 (six) years, with its execution in the penitentiary of semi-closed type.
The preventive measure in the form of pre-trial detention applied to him was maintained until the finalization of the sentence.
At the same time, the confiscation of 2000 euros and 2000 lei from the person's account for the benefit of the State was ordered.
The sentence is not final and can be appealed to the Balti 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.