NGO accuses Prime Minister’s adviser of tax evasion

An adviser to Prime Minister Vlad Filat, helped by a top official of the Customs Service, brought a luxury car into Moldova without paying import taxes. The accusation was made by Veaceslav Balacci, head of the civic association Reality and Truth. He claimed that the two officials caused a damage of €20,000 to the state budget, Info-Prim Neo reports. At a press conference on Friday, Veaceslav Balacci said that Vitalie Rotaru, an adviser to the Prime Minister, bought a Mercedes Benz S-Class improved for sport limousine from an authorized center in Stuttgart, in February 2010. He was helped to import the car by the current director of the Income and Information Technologies Department of the Customs Service, Corneliu Trofaila. Between 2008 and 2010, the latter worked as a diplomat. According to the Law on diplomatic service, the members of the diplomatic corps and their families have the right to import into Moldova goods purchased during their service without paying the taxes. “We have the bill that shows that Trofaila, the new false owner of the vehicle, paid the import tax in the Leuseni customs point - 0 lei. This scheme damaged the Moldovan budget by about €20,000 lei, which is the equivalent of several hundred wages and pensions”, said the head of Reality and Truth association. Veaceslav Balacci added that he was willing to collaborate with law enforcement bodies to find the truth. He has worked in the Customs Service for 10 years, being fired several times and then reinstated by court decisions. He is still involved in a trial against the Customs Service. Balacci says he doesn’t want to return there, but demands justice from the court. The civic association Reality and Truth was created on December 24, 2010, and has the goal of protecting economic activity rights. Veaceslav Balacci promises to soon unveil other fraud schemes.