National Anti-Corruption Centre announces 26 criminal cases opened on illegal agricultural subsidies

Officers of the National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) and prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) carried out 68 raids on Tuesday, 24 January 2023, in criminal cases related to the management by the Agricultural Intervention and Payments Agency (AIPA) of funds from several projects. Details of the raids were given at a press briefing by CNA Director Iulian Rusu and PA head Veronica Dragalin.

According to the CNA director, 26 criminal cases have been opened on abuse of power or abuse of office, passive bribery, active bribery, influence peddling and money laundering: “The activities relate to several episodes that have occurred in recent months, concerning the management by AIPA of funds from several projects it implements.” The head of the PA said that six people have been detained, six are being investigated at large, and “other people are recognised and heard as suspects”.

“We detected a scheme whereby 10% of the funds provided, contrary to legal provisions, were transferred, by various means, to AIPA officials. These amounts reached up to 150,000 lei per grant contract. Another important episode, with an established damage of 3.5 million lei, was detected in another AIPA territorial office.

(…) Special investigative measures have detected the actors involved in this scheme. They are AIPA officials, but also various representatives of companies and public associations. The beneficiaries include mayors. (…) The projects investigated by the CNA include, first of all, the Leader programme (…), the project on direct payments per animal and the project on subsidies to improve living and working conditions in rural areas”, said CNA Director Iulian Rusu.

According to the head of the CNA, more than 350 thousand lei, 10 thousand euros, two thousand dollars, as well as mobile phones, system blocks and other items were seized during the searches. The CNA director said that investigations on the case are continuing.

“The preliminary results of the searches are more than 350 thousand lei, 10 thousand euros, two thousand dollars, money that has been collected. A number of 13 mobile phones, three system blocks, a laptop, as well as two weapons, possessed without the necessary permit. On one single episode that we investigated, we detected a damage of 3.5 million lei”, said Iulian Rusu.

Thus, according to the head of the PA, six people were detained following the searches. Another six people are being investigated under suspicion in criminal cases of abuse of power or abuse of office, passive bribery, active bribery, influence peddling and money laundering.

“Sixty-eight searches were carried out, targeting AIPA employees from the Balti and Comrat territorial sectors, administrators of limited liability companies, administrators of joint-stock companies, mayors and third parties. The localities where the searches were carried out are Glodeni, Sângerei, Bălți, Comrat, Chișinău, Râșcani, Fălești and Drochia. As a result of the prosecution actions, six persons were detained, six persons are being investigated at liberty, and other persons are recognized and heard as suspects on the components of the crime”, explained PA chief Veronica Dragalin.

Officers of the National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) raided on Tuesday, 24 January, with searches of public persons within the Agency for Intervention and Payments for Agriculture (AIPA), local public authorities and several economic agents, in cases concerning the illegal granting of subsidies in agriculture.

In the context of the raids, AIPA issued a reaction stating that it “will provide full support and actively cooperate with the prosecution body in the investigation of employees, in strict compliance with the provisions of the legislation in force”. The AIPA management also stated that it “disassociates itself from employees who admit corrupt manifestations in their work, and (…) declares zero tolerance to acts of corruption”.