The National Integrity Authority (ANI) has found a substantial difference in the total amount of over 164 thousand lei between the property acquired and the income obtained by the former chief prosecutor of Hincesti district, currently prosecutor in the Chisinau Municipal Prosecutor’s Office, Buiucani Office, Remus Moroz and members of his family, during the exercise of the function of chief prosecutor of Hincesti district.

In addition, the integrity inspector found a substantial difference and possession of unjustified wealth in the total amount of almost 700 thousand lei between the income obtained, the expenses incurred and the wealth acquired by Remus Moroz and his family members.

Remus Moroz, who was a candidate for the position of member of the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP), did not pass the evaluation following his withdrawal from the competition.

In June 2022, anti-corruption prosecutors raided the home, car and a holiday home of the former chief prosecutor of the Hincesti District Prosecutor’s Office. The three searches were carried out at the time in a criminal case, initiated on the commission of the offence of illicit enrichment by a person of public dignity.

At the end of 2021, ANI initiated an inspection of the assets of prosecutor Remus Moroz at the request of the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS). According to the SIS request, Remus Moroz and his ex-wife were the beneficial owners of a Mercedes GLC 250 Coupe, registered in the name of Moroz’s ex-wife’s sister and not declared by the prosecutor.

The SIS estimated the value of the car, manufactured in 2018, at around 800,000 lei and argued that the Moroz family would have crossed the border around 200 times between 2018 and 2020 in this car, including for rest purposes in the UK and Turkey. Also, the prosecutor’s ex-wife was listed as the underlying person on the car insurance policy for 2021-2022. She was also fined for driving the car, according to the SIS referral.

According to the statement of 26 May, the prosecutor’s sister-in-law “in 2016-2017, she obtained salary income in the amount of 2,200 lei, respectively – 900 lei from the Public Health Centre of mun. Chisinau, income from child-raising allowance – 84 728.52 lei. During the reference period, her husband did not have any official income, which made it impossible for him to pay for the purchase of the Mercedes GLC 250 Coupe, which he de jure owns”. However, in the absence of the result of the tax audit and on the basis of the evidence gathered in the audit file, it was not possible to establish the Morozs’ status as beneficial owners of this car, ANI notes.

The SIS also drew attention to a commercial room, registered in March 2019, when they were still married, in the name of the wife, with an area of 39.8 square meters, estimating the market value at 700,000 lei, compared to 400,000 lei, as indicated by Remus Moroz in his wealth declaration.

Asked by ZdG in January 2022, Remus Moroz denied that the car belonged to him, pointing out that it had been bought when he was already in the process of divorcing his ex-wife. As for crossing the border around 200 times, as reported in the SIS referral, the prosecutor said there was only one time, in 2019 or 2020, when he went alone with his children on a skiing holiday behind the wheel of that car. He also said he had never been to the UK and there were by no means 200 border crossings. “I’m going to start a questioning on the 200 crossings, it seems to me exaggerated, not even close. The car was bought when I was going through a divorce, everyone confirms that. And I am not fictitious about my divorce”.

Remus Moroz said that the reason why SIS filed the complaint on his name with ANI is not clear to him: “I am still curious and I am interested. Everything I have declared so far have been on real amounts, I don’t have a house of 5 000 lei, but I declared from the start, since 2012, as the amounts were. I have never had any donations from anyone. I will pick up the information on the crossings and after that I will personally contact you and show you all the data,” Remus Moroz previously told ZdG.

ZdG previously wrote that he has been working in prosecutorial bodies since 1998. He has served as chief prosecutor of the Hincesti district in recent years, most recently in 2016, winning the competition without a challenger. Between 2013 and 2017, he was also a member of the PSC, elected by the General Assembly of Prosecutors. Since April 2021, he has held the position of acting deputy chief prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of Straseni district.