Illegal sale of weapons and ammunition and gift offering in the form of pistols to persons not connected with the army are among the illegalities found by Pavel Voicu from the moment he took office as Defence minister. At a press briefing held on August 15, Pavel Voicu mentioned that the illegalities were committed between 2015-2018, IPN reports.
"During the years 2015-2018, some rocket launchers were put up for sale," said Pavel Voicu. He specified that out of four rocket launchers owned by the Army, three have been sold. "The degree of wear brought the cost of a missile to $ 3 million. Mr. Salaru, through the General Staff commander, ordered the commercialization of these launchers to an offshore company for only 660 thousand dollars”, Pavel Voicu said
The Minister of Defence specified that this information was offered to the criminal prosecution bodies.
Pavel Voicu also stated that, during the period when Vitalie Mărinuța was the Minister of Defence, over 40 tons of ammunition have been sold from Mărculești International Airport. "The ammunition arrived in Armenia," Pavel Voicu said.
The minister also said that there was an embezzlement scheme through Army’s cars scrapping. “It all starts from the time when Mr. Salaru was minister. The cars were scrapped and passed at zero cost to the Specialist Training Center. Thus, more than 200 vehicles were sold part by part”, Pavel Voicu declared.
The Minister of Defence also mentioned that the discovered illegalities include the weapons supply as a gift. “Mr. Salaru offered himself a gun. Then Mr. Marinuța, then Mr. Sturza, who hasn’t even done military service, offered himself three weapons in a month," the Defence minister said.
Pavel Voicu also mentioned that Vlad Plahotniuc and other politically affiliated persons are among those who received gifts as weapons too. "By 2015, 20 weapons were offered to former ministers, staff commanders. Since 2015, 57 weapons have been offered as a gift, even two-three to a person, " Pavel Voicu mentioned.