National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) officers and anti-corruption prosecutors have raided on Tuesday the home of former “Pro Moldova” party leader Andrian Candu, godson-in-law of former Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM) chairman Vladimir Plahotniuc. The information was confirmed to ZdG by prosecutor Mariana Cherpec, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG).

“The raids are taking place as part of a criminal case of illicit enrichment. The raids are taking place at his home as well as other locations (…),” Cherpec said.

In October 2021, Andrian Candu stepped down as chairman of the “Pro Moldova” party. Earlier, ZdG wrote that in 2016, Andrian Candu, then speaker of the Parliament, moved into an apartment with an area of 243.6 sq.m., which he obtained in the same year under a commodate contract. ZdG learned at the time that the Candu family had moved into the block on Bulgarian Street, where his godfather, former PDM leader Vladimir Plahotniuc, had a residence visa. Candu moved into a house belonging to the controversial businessman himself.

If in 2018 the former MP declared two apartments, one in ownership and another in use, in 2019, the declaration indicated a real estate of 134 square meters and two garages. The real estate was purchased from his godfather-in-law, Vladimir Plahotniuc, at the price of 1.1 million lei (around 56,000 EUR). After leaving the Parliament, Vlad Plahotniuc indicated in his wealth declaration that he also sold to his godson the 243 square meters apartment in Bulgarian Street, at the price of 4.7 million lei (around 243,000 EUR), where Andrian Candu lived under a commodate contract. Thus, although Candu stated in his declaration that the origin of this apartment was a sale-purchase contract, he did not indicate that he owned it.

In addition to the valuable purchases he made in 2019, Andrian Candu also ended up with a debt of three million lei to his godfather, Vladimir Plahotniuc. He indicated in his 2019 wealth statement that the money was to be repaid by 2024, at a 0% interest rate.

The CNA has subsequently provided details of the raids carried out. According to the CNA, the basis for initiating the criminal proceedings was the referral to the National Integrity Authority (ANI), which carried out the control of the wealth and personal interests of the dignitary.

“The criminal prosecution found that between January 2015 and July 2016, the public dignitary allegedly obtained a share in a local limited liability company (LLC), as well as supplemented the family budget with unjustified financial means in the amount of almost 800,000 lei (around 41,300 EUR). Also, between August 2016 and March 2020, the dignitary would have increased his wealth with financial means and real estate, using for this purpose money from unjustified sources, in the amount of about 4.5 million lei,” CNA announced in a statement.

In order to strengthen the evidence, anti-corruption officers and prosecutors conducted searches at the former MP’s family home and three other buildings owned by him: “The former Speaker of Parliament was admitted as a suspect and heard at the CNA”. Candu says that he has challenged in court the ANI act under which the authority was going to request the confiscation of “unjustified wealth” worth 4.3 million lei: “Based on the ANI decision, the prosecutor’s office must investigate”. Later, Candu said he had appealed in court against the act issued by the ANI which found the former democrat with an unjustified wealth worth 4.3 million lei.

“We will make statements after the actions of the ANC officers. The ANI decision has been challenged and based on the decision the Prosecutor’s Office must also investigate,” Candu said as he led CNA officers to the garage complex he owns.

ANI says it will ask the court to confiscate the “unjustified wealth” of former Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu, amounting to more than 4.3 million lei.