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Moldova: Foreign experts to closely analyze up to seven high-profile sentences from 2024

February 11, 2025

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The European Commission has asked the Republic of Moldova to present ten completed high-profile criminal cases from 2024 for evaluation by foreign experts. These experts will review the cases from the investigation’s initiation to the final court rulings. The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has submitted six of the ten cases. The institution clarified that experts will select up to seven cases for evaluation.

In response to realitatea.md, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office stated that the evaluation commission members plan to visit Moldova to speak with those who handled the cases. This visit could take place in March 2025.

“The European Commission is launching an evaluation mission to assess national authorities’ capacity to tackle high-level corruption, organized crime, and money laundering. The mission will review the entire criminal procedure, from the investigation’s initiation to the final court rulings.

It is not the first time the European Commission has requested such an evaluation. It continues the 2023 assessment of Moldova’s justice system. The Commission has asked for ten completed criminal cases, from which it will select six or seven for evaluation. The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office has submitted six of these cases. The evaluation commission members plan to visit Moldova in March 2025 to discuss the cases with those who handled them,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.

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In a statement issued on Monday morning, February 10, the Prosecutor’s Office listed the six criminal cases sent for international expert analysis. Below is the list:

In August 2024, a former Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of Parliament in two legislatures received a six-year sentence and forfeited $227,000 for influence peddling. According to anticorruption prosecutors, the convicted official requested €1 million from a business administrator, promising in return to influence the president of the Supreme Court to admit an appeal filed by a company against an Economic Court of Appeal decision. The official received $227,000 in two installments from a whistleblower.
In March 2024, a sitting judge and a businessman were convicted of influence peddling and sentenced to five years in prison (suspended) and a $10,000 forfeiture. The judge demanded $15,000 from a business leader to influence fellow judges to rule in his favor in a civil dispute. Authorities arrested the judge while receiving the second installment, having already accepted $11,000. In a separate instance, claiming influence over prosecutors, the judge demanded $1,000 from the same business leader to intervene in a criminal case that would benefit his company. Authorities caught both the judge and the businessman red-handed.
In January 2024, the former interim head of “Banca de Economii” was convicted of large-scale embezzlement for his role in the “Bank Fraud” scheme investigated by anticorruption prosecutors. He received a 10-year sentence and lost the right to hold banking positions for five years. The court ordered him to pay $100 million in damages to the bank (under liquidation) and maintained a seizure on half of his assets, worth approximately 4 million MDL, to secure compensation.
In July and November 2024, two individuals convicted of fraud and money laundering in the same scheme received a 6.5-year sentence and forfeited 1.3 million MDL. Anticorruption prosecutors presented evidence that six people, including a company administrator and founder, fraudulently obtained a 4.4 million MDL loan from “Banca de Economii,” which was never repaid, causing significant financial damage. They then transferred the funds to various companies to conceal their illicit origin. One of the convicted individuals withdrew 1.3 million MDL in cash. Authorities seized assets worth 1.144 million MDL from one of the individuals to cover the fine and restitution.
In October 2024, the former Director of the National Teams’ Sports Training Center was sentenced to seven years in prison, fined, and ordered to forfeit €200,000 for passive corruption. The former Minister of Youth and Sports was found guilty of abuse of office but was released from criminal liability due to the statute of limitations. According to anticorruption prosecutors, the former Director demanded a €200,000 bribe from a business administrator to facilitate the transfer of public property (a plot worth €400,000). Both the former Director and the former minister faced charges of exceeding their official duties, causing damage to the state.
In November 2024, a court issued the first-ever conviction for illegal political party financing, an offense introduced into the Criminal Code in April 2022. The defendant was found guilty of illegally funding the ”Sansa” Political Party and received a 45,000 MDL fine. Authorities also confiscated 613,500 MDL discovered during a search. The defendant accepted a plea agreement in October 2024. The court maintained a seizure on the defendant’s car to ensure the fine’s payment.