The director of a public catering enterprise has been sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison, with a suspended sentence of 3 years, for acts of corruption. Additionally, the court imposed a fine of 575,000 lei and barred him from holding public office for 7 years, IPN reports.
According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, in 2022, the defendant allegedly solicited and received a total of over 81,000 lei from representatives of three companies. The money represented a portion of the price difference resulting from the fictitious increase in the prices of food products supplied to the municipal enterprise. These payments were made to ensure the defendant accepted the proposed offers, continued purchasing the products, and refrained from terminating existing contracts.
The criminal investigation lasted 2 years and 7 months, while the trial took three months. The defendant entered into a plea agreement admitting guilt.
The court found the defendant guilty and ordered the confiscation of the money found and seized during a search of his residence. This included 41,800 lei, 7,500 Romanian lei, 3,260 euros, and 260 dollars, as proceeds of the crime.
To ensure the payment of the fine, the court upheld the seizure of 1 million lei held by the defendant in a bank account.
The sentence handed down by the Chisinau Court, Buiucani branch, can be appealed to the Chisinau Court of Appeals.
