Councilor Emil Gutu accused of asking 500,000 euros from Chisinau minibus company owner

Municipal councilor Emil Gutu is accused of asking 500,000 euros bribe from the owner of a Chisinau minibus company to help him obtain the right to administer transport routes, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a communiqué, the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime (CCCEC) says that the councilor was caught on May 5 in the act of taking the first tranche of 10,000 euros from an intermediary. The Center’s employees found the money marked ‘CCCEC Bribe’ in the councilor’s car. “Holding the post of member of the Commission on the Distribution of Regular Routes of the Council of the Chisinau City Hall, Emil Gutu asked money from a person to help him obtain authorization by influencing the members of the Commission to make a favorable decision,” the communiqué from the CCCEC says. On May 8, the Buiucani Court ordered that Emil Gutu be detained for 20 days. The councilor is accused of passive corruption and misuse of power. He is now held at the Center’s isolator.