The head of Cahul district and another eight persons, among who are employees of the District Council, a mayor and businessmen, were arrested on charges of passive corruption, active corruption and abuse of office. These are suspected of causing over 1 million lei damage to the district budget as a result of rigged procurement procedures, IPN reports.

The National Anticorruption Center said that the chairman of the Cahu District Council and the other suspects arranged the results of a number of public tender contests. They signed in advance contracts for the repair and maintenance of public facilities, favoring the companies that they managed from behind. Abusing their posts and pursuing personal interests, the functionaries transferred money to the accounts of business entities even if the works weren’t finished.

The mayor of a locality of Cahul district is investigated for similar deeds. This accepted undue rewards for favoring companies managed from behind by functionaries of the Cahu District Council. The mayor was persuaded to sign a number of low-value contracts for different repair and maintenance works, causing considerable damage to the local budget this way. 

In the morning of April 4, searches were conducted at the homes and offices of the nine suspects. Procurement contracts, transfer invoices and other proofs were seized as a result. A number of criminal cases concerning passive corruption, active corruption and abuse of office were merged into one procedure. The nine persons were arrested for 72 hours.