A former minister in the Filip government, under criminal investigation for illicit enrichment and false declaration of wealth, escapes prosecution

Following a court ruling, prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) are unable to investigate former Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan, who is under criminal investigation for illicit enrichment and false declaration of assets, a PCCOCS statement announced on Monday, February 13.

“The investigation of the minister was initially refused in 2021 by the Chisinau Municipal Prosecutor’s Office. In the summer of 2022, the interim Prosecutor General found omissions in the work of the municipal prosecutors and overturned that refusal, ordering the resumption of the prosecution by PCCOCS prosecutors.

Subsequently, in October 2022, the Chisinau Ciocana Court annulled the start of the criminal prosecution and the PCCOCS prosecutors challenged it at the Chisinau Court of Appeal.

However, the Court upheld the court’s decision, which is irrevocable, making it impossible to continue the criminal proceedings against the former minister, who was previously investigated with due process of law and presumption of innocence in a case of illicit enrichment and false declaration of assets,” PCCOCS said.

On 30 June 2022, the PCCOCS announced that it had assigned former Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan the status of suspect in two criminal cases – false declaration and illicit enrichment.

The hearing of former Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan by PCCOCS prosecutors took place on 30 June 2022 in the presence of his defence counsel.

“The assignment of the status of suspect was preceded by searches of the file in five locations in Chisinau municipality and in the republic. They were conducted under the direction of the specialized prosecutor’s office and with the support of the Intelligence and Security Service, and in order to strengthen the evidence, law enforcement officers found and collected for investigation a number of relevant documents and an information storage device. These were submitted for examination in the presence of the suspect and his defence counsel,” PCCOCS announced in a press release.

Investigations are continuing, and PCCOCS prosecutors will decide on the need to lay charges and assign another status to the suspect, during which time he will avail himself of the presumption of innocence under the law.

Subsequently, in a reaction on Facebook, former PDM MP and Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan said that the searches were carried out at his home, his mother’s house and several other locations. Jizdan also says that the actions were taken in a case initiated on June 2, 2022, regarding “alleged illicit enrichment and forgery of documents, which has been investigated and verified by various methods by state institutions over the past three years.”