Moldova’s National Integrity Authority (ANI) has refused to open an investigation into whether Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban violated conflict-of-interest rules after a complaint alleged that he had entered into several loan agreements with employees of the Chisinau City Hall.
The complaint was submitted to ANI on August 6 and concerned the financial relationships between Ceban and several of his subordinates. The complainant argued that the arrangements could create a personal interest for the mayor and potentially affect his impartiality when making decisions concerning the employees involved.
As part of its preliminary review, an integrity inspector requested information and relevant documents from Chisinau City Hall, including the loan agreements and administrative acts issued by Ceban concerning the individuals named in the complaint.
Following the review, ANI found no evidence of a personal, material or non-material interest on Ceban’s part that had influenced or could have influenced the impartial and objective exercise of his mayoral duties.
The authority noted that the mere existence of a relationship of subordination between a mayor and an employee, as well as a loan agreement between two individuals, does not in itself constitute a conflict of interest. For a conflict of interest to exist, there must be a connection between the personal interest and the exercise of official duties.
ANI therefore concluded that there was no indication of a violation of the legal framework governing conflicts of interest and decided not to initiate an investigation against Ceban.
Second Recent Complaint Rejected
This is the second recent case in which ANI has refused to open an investigation involving the Chisinau mayor.
In August, the authority rejected a complaint seeking an examination of the source of money Ceban used to pay for legal proceedings related to his ban from entering Romania.
In his explanations to ANI, Ceban said the money came from a loan provided by his sister.
The authority examined Ceban’s 2025 asset and personal interests declaration, in which he reported a €31,000 loan, as well as a payment of 188,225 Romanian lei for legal services made on July 22, 2025.
ANI found that the income of the person who provided the loan could “easily” cover the amount lent to Ceban.