The National Anti-Corruption Center (NAC) and the Prosecutor’s Office of Balti municipality are conducting activities within the framework of a case on corrupt practices and embezzlement of public and external funds.
Today, searches were carried out in several city administrations in the central, northern and southern parts of the country, as well as in the office of the economic operator involved in the implementation of the projects. Five people were detained for 72 hours.
“Water” for commissions instead of water for fields
As the National Anti-Corruption Center informs, it concerns the activities of the administrator and engineers of the economic operator, whose bids were recognized as winners during the public procurement organized for the construction of water supply and sewerage networks. The works were financed from the National Fund for Regional and Local Development through the National Office for Regional and Local Development (ONDRL) within the second phase of the European Rural Program for 2024-2028.
According to the information, the economic operator carried out the works in the districts of Soroca, Edinet, Glodeni, Singerei, Straseni, Soldanesti, Causeni and Taraclia.
It is alleged that the administrator and engineers offered financial means to members of the works acceptance commissions, including employees of the National Inspectorate for Technical Supervision, construction site managers, designers, mayors, etc., in exchange for signing documents, despite numerous irregularities.
Schemes of “optimization” and corruption
Cases of fictitious inclusion in the documentation of works that were not performed were also detected. At the same time, the documents were submitted for payment to ONDRL.
Another scheme for road reconstruction allowed to use only 84 tons of asphalt out of the required 170 tons. At the same time, instead of a thickness of 10 cm, the asphalt layer was laid at about 6-8 cm, which contradicts the design documentation and technical construction norms.
At the same time, it was documented that the contractor’s administrator transferred the sum of 3,500 euros to a subordinate who influenced the officers of the Territorial Labor Inspectorate, the Territorial Police Inspectorate and the Territorial Prosecutor’s Office in order not to initiate criminal proceedings for violation of labor protection rules.
The criminal prosecution is ongoing and, according to the law, the persons concerned enjoy the presumption of innocence.
