The head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (APO) Veronica Dragalin said the fines for corruption offenses and crimes against the justice system are too small. In such conditions, the behavior of citizens who give bribe cannot be changed. The fines should be much larger. Moreover, the culprits should be punished for acts of corruption both with fine and with jail, IPN reports.
In a news conference, Veronica Dragalin spoke about a sentence given several months ago. It goes to a case of corruption involving a businessman who paid €5,000 bribe when crossing the border. The person was tried and fined €3,750.
“So, the bribe was of €5,000, while the fine was much lower. Such punishments will not change the behavior of our citizens. We must raise the fine considerably so that all the persons who commit such offenses realize that if the cases are investigated and tried, they will suffer serious consequences,” stated the APO chief.
According to her, for many offenses, such as influence peddling, the Penal Code stipulates imprisonment or fine. “From our viewpoint, this word “or” should be replaced with “and”. Each corruption offense should carry imprisonment and fine. In many cases, the person is sentenced and gets a four-year suspended sentence. When the law does not stipulate fine, this means the person remains on the outside and does not feel any effect if they behave well. The Criminal Code should be amended so that it stipulates harsher penalties for corruption offenses and crimes against the justice system, which would change our citizens’ behavior,” stated Veronica Dragalin.
The APO chief noted that another proposal is to offer particular benefits to those who denounce acts of corruption and to those who cooperate with the investigation bodies. Other changes should refer to immunity, which is an impediment to conducting investigations. The prosecutors cannot carry out searches until they do not go in a broader group to seek the suspension of immunity. As a result, it is clear that the person learns about the searches and can destroy evidence. “From our viewpoint, the immunity to searches enjoyed by MPs, judges and lawyers is an impediment in our work to collect evidence,” said Veronica Dragalin.
She also said that to work more efficiently and be more successful, the APO should have a budget, a building, sufficient prosecutors, officers, specialists, a unit for international cooperation, a unit for communication with the press and many other things. “For now, we do not have laws that encourage these prosecutors. The salaries of NAC officers were raised the last months, but the pays of prosecutors were not. The prosecutors who went through pre-vetting also didn’t get higher pays. If we want to have forces that fight against corruption and help us to ensure the rule of law, we must encourage the correct prosecutors to remain in the system,” stated the chief anticorruption prosecutor.
