The former deputy director of the Agency for Technical Supervision, Veaceslav Potop, who appeared in a corruption case has become interim director general at the State Road Administration. ZdG asked several state institutions about the new function received by the state official. However, the institutions couldn’t provide us an answer. 

In September 2019, Veaceslav Potop, a state official previously suspected of corruption, resigned from the position of deputy director of the Agency for Technical Supervision. Now, Veaceslav Potop became the interim general director of the State Road Administration. The authorities didn’t make public his appointment, but Veceslav Potop is already registered as the interim general director of the State Road Administration on the institution’s website. 

ZdG tried to find when Potop became the interim director of the institution. After calling on several numbers, we’ve reached the State Road Administration. In the end, the state institution told us that we have to request the information officially from the institution, by writing an email. 

ZdG also asked the Ministry of Economy for more details, but the representatives from the ministry informed us that the Public Property Agency was responsible for the appointment of Potop. We called the Public Property Agency, but no one had an answer for us, and a representative of the agency recommended that we return next week with a call, when everyone will return to work.

Previously, the former head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, Viorel Morari, stated that there was political dissatisfaction with Potop’s case. After Morari was detained, prosecutor Alexandru Cernei was managing Potop’s case. However, when we’ve called him, Cernei informed us that the file was assigned to another prosecutor, but he does not know to whom.

We’ve also contacted Veaceslav Potop’s lawyer, Iurie Alexa, but he stated that he did not want to provide us with information about the progress of the case.

The Government is planning for 2020 several road repair works. And the State Road Administration, led by Veceslav Potop, initiated also several acquisitions of millions.

In March 2019, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office detained Veaceslav Potop but made no public information about the case. After ZdG requested information, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office said that Veceslav Potop is suspected of corruption, being under house arrest, a measure which was later lifted.

The prosecutors accused Veceslav Potop of favoring illegal construction or reconstructions of buildings, offering property rights, and placing buildings into service which were unauthorized or were built with irregularities. According to the prosecutors, Veceslav Potop worked in complicity with civil servants within the Public Services Agency and employees of LLC MLVP GROUP company, founded by his wife, as well as with other unidentified persons.

Although he built almost all his career by working for the state, Veaceslav Potop and his family managed to acquire a fortune of millions. Potop wrote in the declaration of assets that his family’s house amounts to 35,000 euros. The house is in Stăuceni, just a few kilometers from Chișinău. The two-level building was built in a modern architectural style and has a spacious courtyard and garage.