The deputy mayor of Soroca municipality, the chief architect and secretary of the Soroca municipal council were detained in a number of cases concerning the rigging of public tender contests. It happened after law enforcement officers on Wednesday carried out searches within the criminal cases started over active and passive corruption and influence peddling. Seven representatives of the local authorities in Soroca and 16 individuals, including economic agents, are involved, IPN reports.

The National Anticorruption Center said the criminal investigation was initiated based on the reasonable suspicion that public figures and persons holding public positions at the Soroca mayor’s office and the municipal council favored particular economic agents. Specifically, they favored them in the process of obtaining the set of documents for concluding contracts with the municipality in exchange for illegal remuneration.

Also, the officials allegedly rigged a series of tender contests so that these were won by particular economic agents.

By now, four people were classed as suspects and three of them were arrested for 72 hours.