The wealth and activity of the five magistrates who did not pass the evaluation of the Pre-Vetting Commission for CSM positions

ZdG has analysed the wealth and activity of the five judges, who did not pass the Pre-Vetting Commission evaluation, and presents the most relevant information.

Iurie Bejenaru has been a judge at the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) since 2008, having previously been president, vice-president and magistrate of the Buiucani Court.

At the end of 2021, jurnal.md wrote that the judge had allegedly obtained land for construction in Durlești based on false documents. He rejected the accusations and said he had learned from the press that the Durlesti city council decision had been falsified. In 2016, the magistrate sold the land.

Iurie Bejenaru about the land he obtained in Durlesti: “Indeed, in 2006 or 2007 I asked to be granted the right to improve the land. I submitted all the official documents that were required at that time and I received the land title holder’s decision. The land was officially registered at the cadastral bodies, but later I found out that the decision makers of Durlești Town Hall falsified this decision. We learned from the press that it was falsified. I also found out that there is also a criminal case against the people from the Town Hall, but as far as I know, so far there is no conviction and that decision is in force. The land was disposed of by me over 9 years ago after I received probate on ½ of the house and no longer needed the land. The fact that the media blames me for using some false documents when I received this land does not correspond to the truth”.

The judge was part of the panel of judges that examined the case of the State Register Enterprise versus “Intercomsoft” LTD, in which the enterprise was ordered to pay the company $7.8 million in damages. Subsequently, it was established that this decision was adopted with serious illegalities. In 2013, disciplinary proceedings were initiated against Bejenaru, but these were subsequently closed. According to information on the CSM website, the judge’s name appeared in at least 20 complaints examined by the Disciplinary Board, all of which were rejected as unfounded.

Bejenaru was also a member of the panel of judges who, by their decision, put an end to the “Gemeni” case. The magistrates decided to terminate the review procedure on the request for review by the Government Agent of the Republic of Moldova and rejected the applicants’ requests for review. Thus, the State was obliged to pay the claimants €2.12 million in compensation from the state budget, despite the fact that they had requested the return of the building.

In 2020, Bejenaru was awarded the honorary title “Veteran of the Judiciary” by the CSM. Iurie Bejenaru’s name also appeared in the list of persons responsible for the conviction of Moldova at the ECtHR. As a result of the convictions, the Government was obliged to pay about 364 thousand euros.

Anatolie Turcan was appointed as a judge of the CSJ in 2016 until he reached the age of 65. Previously, he served as a judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeal, a judge at the Rascani Court and a judge at the Ochinita Court.

Anatolie Turcan was a member of the panel of the Supreme Court of Justice, together with Vladimir Timofti and Nadejda Toma, which brought to a close the case of controversial businessman Veaceslav Platon. The three judges declared unfounded the appeal filed by Platon’s lawyer against the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal upholding his 18-year prison sentence.

Previously, Anatolie Turcan served as a member of the CSM for 8 years, 2 consecutive terms.

When he was a member of the CSM, Turcan was promoted by his colleagues from CA Chisinau to the CSJ.

Also during his tenure at the CSM, other judges who were targeted in several journalistic investigations were promoted to the position, such as Mariana Pitic, promoted to judge at the CSJ and Mihai Poalelungi, promoted to president of the CSJ. Țurcan also participated in several topics that served as a basis for the revocation of the current composition of the CSM, namely, the consent to the initiation of criminal proceedings against 15 judges based on the referral made by the Prosecutor General, as well as the consent to the initiation of criminal proceedings against the former judge of CA Chisinau, Domnica Manole.

Vitalie Stratan has been a judge since 2008, and since 2017 he has been the vice-president of the Chisinau Court. In the same year he was briefly acting president of the Chisinau Court. Like the entire leadership of the Chisinau Court, in June 2019, Stratan was removed from his position, following the information note filed by Mihai Murguleț, but returned to his position shortly afterwards. In May this year, Stratan was again appointed interim president of the Chisinau Court.

Like his colleagues, Stratan was rated “very good” by the CEPJ in 2013, 2016 and 2019. Although the College’s decision of May 2016 said that he was not disciplined, information on the CSM’s website shows that in January 2015, Stratan had a warning after it was found that he had forced the cadastral office to exclude two acres from a larger plot of land and assign it a cadastral number, without the Cadastral Office and the owner of the real estate being drawn into the process. In March 2015, the decision of the Disciplinary Board was validated by the CSM and was not challenged by the magistrate.

Angela Bostan has been a judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeal since February 2015.

On July 24, 2019, Angela Bostan participated in the composition of the Civil, Commercial and Administrative Disputes Panel of the Court of Appeals of Chisinau, which annulled the decision of the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) on the removal of Ion Druță from the office of President of the CSM, who was at that time the President of the Panel.

At the same time, Angela Bostan was a member of the court panel that obliged the Superior Council of Magistracy to issue the individual administrative act on the organisation of the Extraordinary General Assembly of Judges on 27 September 2019, by decision of 20 September 2019, examining in record time, the request submitted by a group of magistrates. Angela Bostan also opened the proceedings of the Assembly of 27 September, acting as executor of the decision adopted by it on 20 September.

Vladislav Holban has been a judge at the Chisinau Court of Appeals, Centre seat, since 2014. Previously, from 2010 to 2014 he held several positions in the CSJ.

Since 2018, the Holban family owns a residential house with an area of 112.1 square meters, which by 2022 he declares to be worth 587 thousand lei. In the declaration of wealth and personal interests for 2021 the house is listed at the value of 1.2 million lei. The magistrate’s family has also owned, since 2009, a 50 square meter apartment for which they have indicated the value of 411 thousand lei until 2022. In the most recent declaration, the value of the apartment is 310 thousand lei.

The judge also indicates three other real estate assets and a commercial space, which he leases. Holban has been driving a Renault Megane, manufactured in 2009, since 2016, which is said to be worth 65 thousand lei. The Holbans also own two pieces of agricultural land and one piece of land. The family has debts of around one million lei, after taking out a loan in 2018 to buy the house, due in 2033, and a loan from the magistrate’s father, a farmer by profession.

So far, the Pre-Vetting Commission announces that it has issued decisions on 13 candidates for the CSM positions, from among the judges, out of the 28 registered in the competition. As a result, 3 magistrates have passed the Commission’s integrity assessment and 10 have been disqualified by failing the assessment and can no longer participate in the CSM competition.