The probe started by the Competition Council into the recent fuel price rise could take more than a month to complete. Contacted by IPN, Cristina Zara, deputy department head at the Council, said no other details could be offered as it could damage the investigation.

A week ago, the Competition Council noted with concern that the increased fuel prices were posted simultaneously by a number of operators, voicing doubt that they acted independently from one another. An investigation was started to see if there were any secret agreements behind the price rise.

Last week, a number of operators increased prices at the pump by around 1.1 leu for gasoline and 0.85 lei for diesel fuel. A Chisinau NGO and the political bloc ACUM staged protests in response.