Petru Merineanu, the brother-in-law of former Moldovan Socialist President Igor Dodon, who tried to swallow a receipt during the May raids in the illicit enrichment and money laundering case, has been released from house arrest. Thus, according to a decision of the magistrates of the Chisinau Ciocana Court, the preventive measure was changed to provisional arrest under judicial control for a period of 30 days.

The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) informs that on Monday, 10 October, the judges examined the request of the anti-corruption prosecutor to extend the preventive measure in the form of house arrest, for a period of 30 days, applied to the accomplice of former President Igor Dodon, accused on the charge of illicit enrichment.

“Therefore, as a result of the examination, the magistrates ordered the replacement of the preventive measure in the form of house arrest with provisional release under judicial control for a term of 30 days in respect of the accomplice. Given that the case prosecutor’s request was partially admitted, although sufficient arguments were presented for the extension of the house arrest, the prosecutors are going to appeal the decision to the Chisinau Court of Appeal,” the press release issued by the PA reads.

On 9 September, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) announced the transfer to house arrest of Petru Merineanu, an accomplice of former President Igor Dodon, in the illicit enrichment and money laundering case. Anti-corruption prosecutors considered the court’s decision to be “unfounded” and will appeal it to the Chisinau Court of Appeal.

On 24 May, anti-corruption prosecutors raided several premises belonging to the family of former Moldovan President Igor Dodon. Also on Tuesday, Igor Dodon and one other person were detained for 72 hours, as large amounts of money and documents were discovered during the searches, and Igor Dodon’s brother-in-law Petru Merineanu tried to destroy some evidence by swallowing it.

Then, at a press briefing, Elena Cazacov, interim head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA), said that one of the persons, at whose house the searches were carried out, tried to destroy the documents confirming transactions with real estate exceeding 700 thousand euros. She did not provide a name.

On 24 May, the searches took place in Sadova, at Igor Dodon’s parental home and house in Chisinau, at the Sadova “Sadovo” rest base, at Molovata on the banks of the Dniester River, where Dodon’s family has invested in another rest base, at the headquarters of the foundations of the former socialist president of Moldova, including the headquarters of the Moldovan-Russian Business Union, where Dodon is president.

During the raids, prosecutors seized goods and money worth tens of millions of lei, and more than 600 thousand lei, 17 thousand euros and 1000 dollars were found in one of the locations searched.

Prosecutors also found a receipt showing that Igor Dodon’s wife had paid 25 thousand euros, cash, in August 2021 as a deposit for kitchen equipment. The Guard newspaper identified the person who signed this receipt. She provided us with details of the transaction. The trail leads to the ex-president’s brother-in-law, detained by prosecutors while swallowing a receipt, and to an all-inclusive resort on the Nistru River, purchased last summer.