A parliamentary inquiry commission launched three months ago to investigate alleged embezzlement in the extractive sector has found that “Vlad Plahotniuc’s oligarchic regime knowingly paralyzed state institutions across the value chain so that it could freely steal from the state goods and resources, which belong to the people”.
MP Ina Coșeru (PAS), the commission’s chair, told a press conference that the central administration reform initiated under Vlad Plahotniuc’s rule secretly aimed at incapacitating governmental agencies so that they couldn’t stop the theft.
Coșeru said the commission found numerous cases of unauthorized extraction by favored companies and instances of inaction on the part of governmental agencies. There were also cases of extractive operations on agricultural land that degraded valuable soil.
“The Environmental Protection Inspectorate can easily impose a fine on an individual for burning leaves in the backyard, but it lacks the instruments to sanction economic operators for stealing tens or maybe even hundreds of millions of lei from public resources. Those who captured the Moldovan state and turned it into an oligarchy, including lawmakers, not only allowed, but also actively participated in subverting the regulatory framework, including in the extractive sector,” said Coșeru.
In 2018-2021, the Inspectorate issued fines totaling only 202,000 lei despite multiple violations being found in the industry. In 2011-2020, prosecutors launched 55 criminal cases, and only 8 went to court. The total damage estimated in these cases was 850 million lei, but only 1.2 million lei, or 0.14% was ultimately recovered. And no one was sentenced. The inquiry commission is determined to find out how many former officials became owners of quarries.
