Ex-minister of transport and road infrastructure Iurie Chirinciuc was found guilty of influence peddling and abuse of power and was sentenced to 1 year and 4 months in semi-closed jail and fined 35,000 lei. He was also banned from holding public posts for a period of five years. The judgment was passed by the Buiucani branch by the Court of Chisinau on August 9, IPN reports.

Iurie Chirinciuc wasn’t present in the courtroom when the sentence was pronounced.

Until August 9, Iurie Chirinciuc was under judicial control since July 14. At the end of June, the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office completed the investigation and sent to court the case against the ex-minister.

According to prosecutors, the former minister of transport, together with the heads of two building companies, employed a scheme to illegally obtain money. They exerted pressure on a company that won the tender contests financed by the European Investment Bank to make this concede a part of the workload to affiliated business entities.