Iana Talmaci, a magistrate at Straseni Court since 2015, withdrew her candidacy from the integrity assessment contest for the position of member of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM). In this regard, Talmaci said that “the need for withdrawal is dictated by the fact that there are risks of manipulation by some actors of the situation in which a husband is elected president of the UNEJ and wife as a member of the SCM”.

Talmaci is the third judge to withdraw from the competition at the integrity assessment stage in the context of the Pre-Vetting Law. According to the judge, on 16 September, the congress of judicial executors of Moldova “elected by secret and freely expressed vote” as president of the National Union of Judicial Executors (UNEJ) Moldova, her husband – Roman Talmaci, who was sworn in on 22 September.

“The necessity of the withdrawal is dictated by the fact that there are risks of manipulation by some actors of the situation in which a husband is elected President of UNEJ and wife as a member of the CSM, in the context of the interaction and powers of these bodies. This could affect the perception of the judiciary that the selection process has been flawed, which could shake confidence in the evaluation exercise of candidates for the position of CSM member,” reads a post on the magistrate’s Facebook page.

According to Law No 26/2022 on some measures related to the selection of candidates for membership in the self-administrative bodies of judges and prosecutors, the withdrawal of a candidate from the competition after the institution responsible for organising the elections or the competition has sent the list of candidates to the Commission, is equivalent to the non-promotion of the evaluation, regardless of the reason given by the candidate.

Iana Talmaci was appointed in August 2015 as a magistrate at Straseni Court. She was on maternity leave from May 2016 to March 2019. She returned, and in August 2020 she was appointed as a judge until she reached the age limit.

The magistrate is the wife of Roman Talmaci, former president of the National Union of Executioners of Moldova. ZdG previously wrote that the magistrate is the godmother of the former deputy secretary-general of the Moldovan President’s Apparatus, Nicolae Posturusu, during Igor Dodon’s tenure. She is also the sister-in-law of Judge Ghenadie Pavliuc. ZdG also noted that during her period of activity, the magistrate participated in several events organised by the National Union of Executioners, being delegated by the CSM at the request of the then president of the Union of Executioners, Roman Talmaci.

In 2019, the judge participated in the General Assembly of Judges, which was considered illegal by the CSM and the then Government, calling for the dismissal of CSM members.

The Talmaci family owns a fortune worth millions. According to the most recent declaration of wealth and personal interests, in 2020, the magistrate and her husband came into possession of two cars: the Ford Fusion, manufactured in 2019, for which they indicate a value of 260 thousand lei, and the Lincoln MKZ, manufactured in 2017, which they allegedly bought for 360 thousand lei. At the same time, there are three other cars in the Talmaci family garage: a Lexus 450 H, a Renault Megane and a Renault Clio, with a total value of 600 thousand lei.

The Talmaci’s own a villa of 160 square metres, valued at about 2.7 million lei. As of 2018, the family owns three other properties and a garage – estimated in total at around 3 million lei. The family also owns 5 agricultural lands, 2 in unincorporated areas and one in a metropolitan area, worth a total of more than 1.4 million lei.

The couple own shares in several joint stock companies in Romania and shares in several financial institutions in Moldova, including BC “Moldindconbank” SA, BC “Moldova Agroindbank” SA, “SN Nuclearelectrica” SA Romania, “SNTGN Transgaz” Romania, “Purcari Wine” SA or BC “Banca Transilvania” Romania. Last year, the family budget was supplemented by 90 thousand lei and 10 thousand Romanian lei (equivalent to 41 thousand lei) from dividends. The Talmaci family also declares debts of 200 thousand lei, after taking out a loan from BC “Moldindconbank” SA in 2020, where both husbands hold shares.

In a comment previously provided to ZdG, the magistrate said that in a simple audit it can be seen that “my husband’s income fully covers all the assets that have been procured or collected over the years”.

Iana Talmaci about her millions of dollars “Since 2015 I have been working as a magistrate, before that I worked as a lawyer since 2008. So, I had some financial sources accumulated by me personally, but please note that my husband is indicated in my declarations of wealth and interests, and there all his income is in the palm of my hand, so it shows”.

On 16 September, the Independent Integrity Assessment Commission of candidates for membership in the self-administration bodies of judges and prosecutors (Pre-Vetting Commission) announced the adoption of a decision concluding that Dumitru Pușca, candidate for the position of member of the SCM, currently a judge at the Court of Appeal of Balti, was not promoted. Pușca was the second candidate to withdraw from the competition, after Mihail Cojocaru, a judge at the Balti Court of Appeal, central seat, who also withdrew his application for the position of SCM member.