The Ministry of Justice said it intends to appeal the recent Chisinau Court ruling that awarded Judge Oleg Melniciuc 500,000 lei in non-pecuniary damage and 5,100 in costs.

Melniciuc holds the questionable distinction of being the first Moldovan judge to stand trial in an illicit enrichment case, but contrary to reports, the Ministry says the recent ruling is not in connection with this particular case.

In fact, the compensation that was awarded to Melniciuc is related to an influence peddling case initiated in August 2017. After prosecutors dropped the charges in January 2020, the judge sued the Ministry of Justice for compensation.

Meanwhile, in September 2021, Melniciuc was sentenced by a district court to 7 years in prison in the illicit enrichment case. According to the charges, during 2013-2017, the judge had filed untruthful declarations of assets, which could not account for his actual fortune. But Melniciuc hasn’t yet served a single day of his sentence, as the case is still going through appeals proceedings.