The pro-dean of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the University of European Studies of Moldova (USEM) was arrested by anticorruption officers following a denouncement submitted by a female student, who said that the lecturer obliged her to pay 3,000 lei for a Bachelor’s thesis, IPN reports.

In a press release, the National Anticorruption Center said the student was to defend her Bachelor’s thesis, but the pro-dean, after examining it, said that this is unsuitable and she can help her pass the exam by offering her an already written thesis in exchange for money. To avoid the direct transmission of money, the lecturer told the student to pay one of the rates (3,000 lei) of a loan that she took out to buy a mobile phone.

An investigation is under way. The pro-dean is suspected of influence peddling.