Chisinau Court’s Judge Serghei Lazari today pronounced a judgment behind closed doors in the case of the ex-deputy economy minister Valeriu Triboi, ordering him to pay a fine of 750 conventional units, equivalent to 37,500 lei, or about $2,100, and repay the full damages. The charges brought against the former official included “abuse of power” and “damages caused to the state budget in particularly large amounts”.
Dorin Compan, representing the prosecution in the case, told reporters that the fine, the mildest penalty for such offenses, was imposed after the defendant admitted his guilt fully, and collaborated in collecting the evidence. He also agreed to pay all the damages caused to the state, amounting to 2.5 million lei.
However the prosecutor wasn’t ready to answer if the court also sanctioned Triboi with a ban on certain public offices, as is the practice in official misconduct cases.
During 2014-2016, Valeriu Triboi abused his official capacity to buy a building from the state-run Moldtelecom, using intermediaries, and rent it out to the company Furnizarea Energiei Electrice Nord. Then he influenced the management of the company to spend 4 million lei on repairing the building, four times the price paid for the building itself.
