A former commissioner and a former inspector of the General Inspectorate for Migration in Bălți have been convicted of corruption. They were accused of demanding 7,000 lei from a Ukrainian woman with four children from Ocnita, whose passport had expired, in exchange for not deporting her, reports IPN, citing the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases.

The court sentenced them to three and two years in prison, respectively, with suspended execution of the sentence, and imposed fines of 350,000 lei and 300,000 lei. Additionally, they are prohibited from holding public office for the next eight and seven years, respectively.

At the request of prosecutors, the court upheld the seizure of over 150,000 lei worth of agricultural and construction land belonging to the first convict and a portion of an apartment worth over 900,000 lei belonging to the second, to ensure the payment of the imposed fines.

The two were detained in November 2021. In March 2022, they were brought to trial for passive corruption after resigning from their positions when they failed to challenge their suspension.