Officials of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office announce that on Tuesday, August 2, prosecutors sent to court the criminal case of indictment of an employee of the Botanica Police Inspectorate and his accomplices, accused of influence peddling in the case of a bribe of half a million lei, demanded for solving a file, initiated for the sale of drugs.

In May 2022, as a result of the criminal prosecution and investigation actions carried out, National Anti-Corruption (CNA) and Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) officers, under the direction of anti-corruption prosecutors, detained three persons suspected of committing the offence of trafficking in influence in particularly large proportions. The three, including a policeman from the Botanica Police Inspectorate, are alleged to have extorted half a million lei from a man previously detained for trafficking narcotics.

According to the investigation, the money was allegedly sent to solve the case and to bribe public persons in the prosecution body, which was in charge of the case.

Initially, the three persons were remanded in custody. Given that one of the defendants cooperated with the investigation, a non-custodial preventive measure was applied to him, while the other two defendants were remanded in custody for 30 days.

After examining the appeal lodged by the defence against the preventive arrest warrant, the magistrates of the Chisinau Court of Appeal decided to maintain the preventive arrest of one of the two accused, while the preventive arrest of the other was replaced by house arrest for a period of 30 days, although both accused were charged with the same criminal offence.

At the same time, at the request of the anti-corruption prosecutors, with the authorisation of the investigating judge, with a view to repairing the damage caused by the offence, as well as with a view to possible special confiscation, the vehicle belonging to one of the accused was seized. Similarly, a seizure was imposed on the funds found and seized during the search carried out at the home of one of the accused, in the total amount of 8901.23 lei (close to 450 euros)

“The person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent as long as his guilt will not be established by a final court decision”, prosecutors say.