A former deputy head of the State Ecological Inspectorate has been sentenced to five years in prison for corruption, IPN reports, referring to a press release of the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Causes (PCCOCS).

The former official is accused of extorting 25 thousand lei from the representative of an economic agent, for the latter to be exempted from an ecological audit.

The sentence comes after almost four years of examinations, during which the accused was exempted from criminal liability by the Chisinau Court.

In addition to the prison sentence, to be served in the penitentiary, the 25 thousand lei received as a bribe have been confiscated. Judges have also imposed a 300 thousand lei fine on the man, depriving him of the right to hold public office for a term of eight years.

The sentence may be appealed against at the Supreme Court of Justice.