The prosecutor who was acquitted in the €12,000 bribery case has applied to the Prosecutor General’s Office for reinstatement. The reason why his request was not granted

Oleg Russu, the suspended prosecutor from the Prosecutor’s Office of the Riscani sector of the Chisinau municipality, who was acquitted in full by the magistrates of the Chisinau Court, Centre headquarters, in the case of the 12 thousand euro bribe, has asked the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) to be reinstated in his post. However, his request was rejected on the grounds that there is no final judgment in the case, said Violina Moraru, spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General’s Office.

“(…) We inform you that the mentioned prosecutor, in July 2023, applied to the PG to be reinstated in service, after his suspension from office, following a judgment of acquittal against him in a criminal case. The General Prosecutor’s Office refused to comply with the request on the grounds that there was no final judgment in the case,” said Violina Moraru.

Oleg Russu was suspended from his position as a prosecutor in the Rascani District Prosecutor’s Office in March 2016, when he became a suspect in the 12 thousand euro bribery case.

Acquittal after six years of examination of the file

Oleg Russu, the suspended prosecutor of the Rascani District Prosecutor’s Office in Chisinau municipality, was acquitted in full by the magistrates of the Chisinau Court, Centre Court, in the case of the 12 thousand euro bribe. The state prosecutor’s accomplice was partially convicted by the judges. The sentence was pronounced on 7 July 2023, but the criminal prosecution was started in February 2016 by the PA. The criminal case was examined in court for six years, with about 140 hearings.

According to prosecutors, the intermediary, acting in participation with Oleg Russu, demanded from a citizen accused of committing the crime of fraud the sum of 12 thousand euros, in order to remove him from prosecution and close the criminal case.

“(…) In order for the prosecutor to issue the order to close the criminal case, the complainant sent the intermediary the money he had previously claimed in two instalments, namely, 5,000 euros until and 7,000 euros after the order to close the criminal case was issued.

The prosecutor received the first instalment of €4,000 for the fulfilment of the promise and agreed that the rest of the money would be passed on to him after the complainant had received the closure order. The money was passed on to the intermediary under the control of the prosecuting authority by the complainant and traced during the search,” say the PA representatives.

In a judgment of 7 July 2023, the judges acquitted the prosecutor in its entirety on the grounds that “the defendant’s act does not meet the elements of the crime”.

Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office on the sentence: “Illegal and unfounded”

Anti-corruption prosecutor Andrei Balan considers the sentence issued by the magistrates of the Chisinau Court, Centre Branch, as “illegal and unfounded”, which is why he appealed it to the Chisinau Court of Appeal.

“This sentence is illegal and contrary to the law, both during the criminal prosecution and during the judicial investigation, relevant and sufficient evidence has been provided which unequivocally proves the guilt of the defendants. At the same time, the court did not take into account the provisions of Article 226(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, excluding the recovery of legal costs from the defendants’ account (…),” the appeal excerpt reads.

For her part, Veronica Dragalin, the head of the AP, expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence handed down by the judges of the Chisinau Court.

“(…) What is the point of investigating cases of high corruption and spending state resources in 140 court sessions with such sentences?

We need to fundamentally reform the criminal policy of sanctioning acts of corruption in our country, so that at least those convicted feel any consequences of the criminal law. Otherwise, we will not change people’s behaviour, especially the corrupt ones in the justice system who make big money in corruption schemes,” Veronica Dragalin said in a post on her Facebook page.

A person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court decision.

Oleg Russu is the prosecutor who dealt with the case of the death of Eugen Țapu, found strangled in the attic of a block of flats in the capital and allegedly one of the victims of the 7 April 2009 protests. Oleg Russu previously said there was no link between the young man’s death and the riots 14 years ago. He also dealt with the case of activist Oleg Brega who in 2011 was assaulted by four people at the Slavonian University in Chisinau, according to anticoruptie.md.