Alleged illegal actions of the acting Prosecutor General arising from the so-called leaked correspondence to be examined by a prosecutor

The Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) appointed on Friday, 16 December, Vitalie Chișca, a prosecutor from the Office of the Prosecutor for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), to examine the alleged illegal actions of interim Prosecutor General Ion Munteanu.

Ion Munteanu has requested that the CSP appoint a prosecutor to examine the circumstances of the alleged leaks of private correspondence.

“(…) On 25 November, on the Moldova Leaks website, various information was placed as a result of the hacking of the email account and the Telegram application account of the personal phone. The content of the discussions led to the perception of certain media sources and certain members of society that I would own, through intermediaries, real estate properties that I have not declared and would manage from the shadows certain businesses, facts that would contain the offences provided for by the Criminal Code – false statements and illicit enrichment,” the application of the Acting Prosecutor General states.

“I have not been able to see in detail what is there. I tell you that if everything that is about to appear or has already appeared is true, it cannot compromise me or the image of the Prosecutor General’s Office,” was the reaction of the interim Prosecutor General, Ion Munteanu.

In a comment to Ziarul de Gardă, the acting Prosecutor General said he might refer the matter to the law enforcement bodies.

“(…) I want to tell you 100% that I have no problem that my Telegram account was made public, but it is regrettable that this is happening. It is an interference in my private life and not only in my case, but also in the case of other people who have appeared in such situations (…). I am also making this comment in relation to e-mail. It is even more serious that privacy is being violated without any measure. It is a way of intimidation that will not affect my views in relation to what I have to do in the Prosecutor’s Office (…) I will first see what information has appeared and if it is confirmed that the information contained in my e-mail is from public sources, then I will refer it to the police to investigate the deprivation of privacy (…)”, Ion Munteanu said.

The administrators of the website, which previously published private conversations attributed to Justice Minister Sergiu Litvinenco, presidential adviser Dorin Recean and former PLDM MP Vadim Pistrinciuc, claim that this is “the biggest leak of private correspondence of high-ranking officials in Moldova. Messages, mailboxes, bank accounts”.

ZdG has examined the content of these alleged conversations, as several people, whose names appear in the chats, have confirmed that the discussions are at least partly truthful.

The website on which these messages were published was registered on Tuesday 8 November outside Moldova. Telegram is an instant messaging and VoIP service developed by Telegram Messenger LLP, a company registered in London, UK, and founded by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov.

President Maia Sandu signed a decree on Wednesday, October 12, appointing Ion Munteanu, a prosecutor in the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, as acting prosecutor general, according to the presidential institution.