The mayor of Trușeni, the chief architect and the ex-head of the municipal enterprise of the mayor’s office were remanded in custody for 30 days. They will be held at Penitentiary No. 13. The decision was taken by the Ciocana branch of the Chisinau City Court. The fourth person investigated in this case, a businessman, concluded a guilt admission agreement and was set free. The persons are investigated for passive corruption, active corruption and influence peddling, IPN reports.

According to the National Anticorruption Center, there were identified a number of cases of asking of money from business entities and private individuals for issuing urbanism certificates for construction works and other documents for legalizing real estate. The functionaries asked for sums varying between €500 and €1,000 and also for tangible assets, such as lots of land, for issuing permissive documents.

There was also documented an attempt to appropriate property belonging to a 73-year-old woman living in Trușeni. The videos obtained by NAC show how the mayor of the commune and his accomplices discuss a plan for dispossessing the woman of property, including a lot of land and an apartment in Chisinau, by gaining her trust and offering her benefits.

If they are found guilty, the four face maximum jail terms of ten years.