PA chief responds to accusations about her election: “No one promised or guaranteed me that I would win this competition”
The head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Veronica Dragalin, says she got the job as a result of a rigorous and transparent competition she took part in and that no one promised or guaranteed her that she would win that competition. She claims that there have been attempts to intimidate her since she took up the position of chief anti-corruption prosecutor.
“I know that coming into the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and being firm in my intentions to fight hard against corruption, I became troublesome to those who were used to having ‘outlets’ at the prosecutor’s office. And those targeted in criminal cases now pull strings in the hope that I will be intimidated. Their efforts are in vain,” reads a message posted by Veronica Dragalin on her Facebook page.
Dragalin claims that no one told her she would win the contest.
“I am in office as a result of a rigorous and transparent competition I participated in because I truly want to help my country. No one promised or guaranteed me that I would win this contest. I had a public interview and a dossier presented in front of a committee with representatives from civil society and the Moldovan prosecutor’s office, as well as experts from abroad, Romania, the USA and Latvia. These members reviewed my education, my training as a prosecutor, my experience and expertise in the US, my management plan and my reasoning for fighting corruption in Moldova. The pre-selection committee gave me a score of 9.8 (compared to 7, 7.4 and 8.4 for the other candidates),” the message reads.
She claims that since the time she applied for the position there have been attempts to intimidate her.
“With much zeal there has been a falsehood spread about my position as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. that I was not, in fact, a prosecutor. Allegedly educated people have questioned my education, training and experience in the public arena, even though the information included in my resume can be verified online. In this context at that time I sent a request to the PSC to clarify who was questioning my education and qualifications, which went unanswered. Subsequently, the members of the PSC, empowered to select the Chief Prosecutor of the PA, having access to the same material as the pre-selection committee, had the opportunity to learn about all the candidates, including my career path as a prosecutor in the USA, where my reputation was irreproachable. Any discussion by the PSC members about the candidate they wanted to promote after reviewing all the material, whether or not it took place, does not undermine the fairness of the selection process and the outcome of the competition,” the message said.
According to the PA chief, another attempt to be attacked is the accusation that she got the position of chief anti-corruption prosecutor because her mother donated to PAS.
“I am proud of my parents, who started the fight against corruption in Moldova before me through donations and other activities, such as donations to the independent press when it was stifled by mafia, to NGOs when they were protesting injustices in a captured state. My parents made two donations to PAS by bank transfer during the 2020 and 2021 election campaigns, $1000 each. This is not illegal party funding, these are donations within the limits allowed by law. We are talking about $2000. Do you think this is enough money to buy the seat of Chief Prosecutor of the PA? This post is priceless and cannot be bought,” Dragalin says.
“I am in this position to do my job as a prosecutor. The corrupt have already understood this very well and are disturbed, even scared. That’s why they started asking for my resignation. Which is not going to happen. I will continue to work alongside my team in the PA, alongside all those honest and dedicated to doing our job in the service of the law, the citizens, and the country,” the PA chief’s message reads.
