Minister of Justice Sergiu Litvinenco applauds the bill on the extended confiscation of property proposed by President Maia Sand. He voiced hope that the bill will be swiftly adopted in Parliament and implemented so as to give an impetus to the fight against corruption. The minister said the bill will enable to confiscate the property of public servants and their relatives which cannot be justified, IPN reports.

Recently, President Maia Sandu submitted to Parliament a bill to improve the current legislation on the extended confiscation of ill-gotten gains. According to the official, the current law enables the corrupt persons to keep their illegal gains by transferring them to third persons.

“The essence of the changes proposed by Maia Sandu is simple and can ensure the extended confiscation of property that existed since 2015, but has never been applied, also because the penal law does not clearly stipulate when this confiscation can be applied and what the difference between extended confiscation and special confiscation is. For example, we have a public servant who committed ten acts of corruption and gained €1 million. He commits one more act of corruption and takes €1,000 bribe. Under the current law, only the €1,000 can be confiscated. The essence of the President’s law is that the judge can order to confiscate also the €1 million if discrepancy is identified between incomes and costs,” Sergiu Litvinenco stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.

The minister noted this initiative will prevent the transfer of fabulous property to family members or relatives as this property could also be confiscated.

“The difference between extended confiscation and special confiscation resides in the fact that in the case of special confiscation, the functionary is stripped of the bribe with which this is caught red-handed, while in the case of extended confiscation, the other property is also confiscated if it’s proven that it was gained by offenses of which the person wasn’t convicted. I hope Parliament will examine this bill as it is beneficial and can improve the fight against corruption,” said Sergiu Litvinenco.

Under Maia Sandu’s bill, extended confiscation can be also ordered if the persons accused or suspected of committing acts of corruption died or the case is tried in absentia when the culprit avoids coming to hearings.