The new prosecutor general has all the capacities to act firmly, Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru stated after the official investiture of Ion Munteanu as head of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The official noted that the immediate actions of the new prosecutor general should aim at strengthening the body of judges, promoting the vetting and increasing the quality of investigation of corruption cases, IPN reports.
The minister is sure that the new prosecutor general will streamline the work of the prosecutor’s office, send a message of stability to the system and make efforts to fight corruption and crime. The fact that he held the post of prosecutor general on an interim basis will help Ion Munteanu to better understand the problems experienced in the system.
“Ion Munteanu has all the necessary capacities to act more firmly. His performance in the contest made his goals quite clear. Although we had three candidates who participated in the interview stage, according to the management concept presented, Ion Munteanu showed himself to be quite firm about the objective of fighting corruption, crime, overcoming a number of problems in the prosecution system. In the context of the message launched by President Sandu, firm actions are expected from prosecutors, but also from judges as they are the main actors in delivering justice. Surely, I wanted Ion Munteanu to have done much more from his position as interim prosecutor general, but, on the other hand, he had the opportunity to see what the problems and challenges are,” Veronica Mihailov-Moraru stated in the talk show “At 360 Degrees” on Radio Moldova.
The official noted that Ion Munteanu’s immediate actions as prosecutor general must be aimed at promoting the vetting process. The minister’s statement comes after the head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office announced that a number of prosecutors intend to resign in order not to be subjected to the integrity test.
“The position of prosecutor general is extremely important also to set the tone of stability in the prosecution system, to strengthen the prosecutors’ body and to set the tone in the fight against grand corruption. But we have to admit that the prosecutor general can’t do this alone. He has to do it together with other authorities. From the post of prosecutor general, as a manager, it is very important for him to unite the body of prosecutors around the same objectives and to intensify international cooperation in criminal matters. Given that the prosecutors are under vetting, the first actions should be aimed at streamlining the prosecution system, strengthening the prosecutorial body, sending positive messages as regards the need of vetting, but also intensifying efforts to improve the quality of investigations into corruption cases and taking action when particular investigations are not exactly appropriate,” said Veronica Mihailov-Moraru.
President Maia Sandu on 1 June signed a decree to appoint Ion Munteanu as Moldova’s prosecutor general. Munteanu was proposed as a candidate to the head of state by the Superior Council of Prosecutors. The new prosecutor general is to serve a seven-year term.
