The 16 suspects arrested by officers of the National Anticorruption Center within the case concerning the arranging of public tender contests for purchasing medical equipment and consumables were placed under house arrest or were remanded in custody, IPN reports.

The representative of a company Tudor Tchaikovsky, deputy head of the Public Procurement Agency Ghenadie Grib and division head at the Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices Victor Donea will be held at the Center’s remand unit for 30 days.

Ex-health minister Andrei Usatyi, director of the National Emergency Medicine Center Gheorghe Ciobanu, director of the Taraclia District Hospital Valeriu Jelev and one of the vice directors of the Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices Alexandru Spanu will stay under arrest for 25 days initially.

The Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices director Alexandru Coman was arrested for 20 days, while deputy head of the Department of Penitentiary Institutions Serghei Turcanu – for 10 days.

The acting head of the Cahul Health Center Alexandru Hagioglo, director of the National Medical Diagnosis Center Andrei Testemitanu, head of the Chisinau Logistics Division Constantin Avasiloaie and director of the Oncology Institute Victor Cernat were placed under house arrest for 30 days.

The Cardiology Institute director Vitalie Moscalu, first vice director of the National Emergency Medicine Center Liviu Vovc and director of the Health Ministry’s Health System Restructuring Project Coordination and Implementation Unit Victor Volovei got 25 days of house arrest.

As part of this criminal case that was started last November, there are examined 20 public tender contests held in the healthcare sector. Contracts to the value of over 200 million lei were signed within them.