The former director of the Public Services Agency (ASP) Sergey Railean was arrested for abuse of power and misconduct in office following searches carried out in the morning of September 17, IPN reports.

In the morning, the Media Relations Service of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases confirmed the searches involving an ex-director of the Public Services Agency without specifying the name. Its press release said the person is suspected of abuse of power and misconduct in office while managing the Agency, including when issuing documents to a number of citizens, among who was Vladimir Plahotniuc.

The Security and Intelligence Service in a press release said the searches featuring a former director of the Public Services Agency were conducted at his home in Chisinau and, as a result, there were seized memory cards that are yet to be examined. “While heading the Agency, the suspect facilitated the issuing of identification papers – identity cards and passports – in the name of persons close to citizen Plahotniuc Vladimir, by obviously violating the procedures, including in the absence of the applicants,” runs the press release.

In 2011, after Pavel Filip was named Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Sergey Railean became director general of the state-run Center of State Information Resources “Registru”, which was managed by the ICT Ministry. When Pavel Filip was named Prime Minister, Sergey Railean was appointed director of the new governmental agency – the Public Services Agency.