The document provides for the expansion and clarification of the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Center in the investigation of economic and financial crimes, including fraud affecting the financial interests of the state and European Union funds. The authors of the draft argue that the current legislative framework is fragmented and the overlapping powers of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases create inefficiencies in the investigation of complex cases.
According to the explanatory note, economic-financial crime is becoming increasingly complex and cross-border, and a clear delineation of institutional powers would allow for more effective investigation of fraud and recovery of criminal assets.
In addition, the center will be able to investigate cases of fraud and embezzlement committed through the use of official position, if the damage exceeds 250 average monthly salaries in the economy, equivalent to about 4.35 million lei.
The draft also provides for the creation of a new (third) position of deputy director of the National Center for Combating Corruption. As Logos Press has already written, the creation of this position will require an annual payroll of about 570,750 lei.
During the discussion of the draft law, the deputies asked whether the director of the National Center for Combating Corruption “will not be “washed out” if his mandate is extended and whether it will lead to his “political management”. In response, a representative of the Ministry of Justice said, “Five years is longer than the term of the parliament.”
