ZdG investigated how Cristina Pîrțac, the judicial assistant of the Judge Vladislav Clima, the new head of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, afforded a luxury car on a modest public salary. The magistrate’s assistant stands out among her colleagues, showing up to work driving a Porsche Macan. Asked by ZdG, Cristina Pîrțac specified that she leased the car in August, on her birthday. However, her declarations of assets and personal interests do not demonstrate a luxurious lifestyle. When Pîrțac came into the public system, in 2014, the assistant reported an official income of 132 euros per month, 1623 euros per year. The car’s market price is no less than 40,000 euros, the equivalent of the judicial assistant’s official salary for the next eight years. 

This phenomenon drew ZdG’s attention, as Vladislav Clima, the richest magistrate in Moldova, became head of the Chișinau Court of Appeal in August 2020. President Igor Dodon signed his appointment a month before it became public. Vladislav Clima is the son of the former judge at the Supreme Court of Justice, Nicolai Clima. In recent years, Vladislav Clima has distinguished himself with several controversial cases. The magistrate was the head of the court panel, which upheld the decision to cancel the election of Chișinău’s Mayor in 2018. 

As the magistrate advanced in positions, he brought Cristina Pîrțac to the Court of Appeal.  Asked by ZdG, the assistant specified that she leased the car in August on her birthday, with help from her father and brother. “It is a €39,500 Porsche, from 2017. I sold the car that I declared owning in 2014 for 15,285 euros. Respectively, this was the sum I added.” says Pîrțac. Clima’s assistant claims that her father has supported her financially in recent years. Her brother, Alexandru Pîrțac, who also contributed to the Porsche Macan’s purchase, works as a real estate agent in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. “My father has been abroad for 20 years. My money is legal. I made some transfers to my sister. I have accounts in Dubai. I would never make in Moldova the money I make here,” points out Cristina’s brother.

 We asked Vladislav Clima, the Chișinău Court of Appeal President if he knew how his assistant could afford the luxury car. The magistrate stated that he recently found out about her new purchase after Cristina Pîrțac informed him that the ZdG team approached her.

“I got interested because, indeed, I knew nothing about her car. On Monday, when she got to work, I understood that it was a new acquisition. I asked her where she got the car, and she said I should not worry; it is second-hand and is leased with the help of relatives, who, as I understood, are abroad. She also sold her previous car. Cristina told me that she would declare the sources of income in the declaration of assets for 2020, and, respectively, the vehicle’s source,” mentioned the president of the Chișinău Court of Appeal.