Sergiu Cebotari, a former top manager at the state-run Moldova Mail, was sentenced today to eight years in prison on multiple counts of fraud and forced labor.
The Ungheni District Court also banned Cebotari from holding managing positions for a period of four years and ordered him to pay 308,000 lei ($17,860) in damages to the victims.
According to courtroom footage provided by Jurnal TV, Cebotari was found guilty of deceiving and subjecting a number of people to forced labor. The sentence can be appealed within 15 days.
In June 2017, the former Moldova Mail deputy director exposed an alleged anabolics trafficking scheme operated through mail. Cebotari ended up being himself arrested, just on his way to Parliament to show his evidence. He alleged in particular that the trafficking ring had protection from the director of Moldova Mail himself, who in turn enjoyed the patronage of the governing Democratic Party. Cebotari also said he would not show the evidence in his possession to the law enforcement as he feared it could be destroyed.
