The head of the "North" Customs Office of the Customs Service, as well as six other customs officials, including heads of customs posts within the "North" Customs Office, are being investigated by the NAC officers and prosecutors of the Chisinau Municipal Prosecutor's Office in a criminal case, in which are suspected of acts of passive corruption. Following the searches, carried out this morning, 6 customs officers, including the head of the Office, were detained for 72 hours, and an official is to be investigated in a state of freedom.

According to the evidence administered by the NAC, it was found that the suspects would have organized a criminal scheme, through which they would have claimed and received illegal remunerations from individuals and legal entities for expediting or evading customs procedures by favouring the latter when introducing or the transit of goods on the customs territory of the Republic of Moldova, contrary to the provisions of the law. Thus, as part of the investigations carried out by the NAC, it was documented that the suspects claimed and accepted from the persons who introduced goods through the customs posts some illicit remunerations that varied between 1.5 thousand euros and 9 thousand euros.

Today, 21 searches took place at the homes, offices and cars of customs officials from the "North" Customs Office, involved in the criminal scheme.

Case investigations are ongoing under the procedural leadership of prosecutors from the Chisinau Municipal Prosecutor's Office. We will come back with details.

Every person shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final and irrevocable court decision.