Viorel Morari remains under arrest

The suspended chief of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office Viorel Morari remains in remand detention. The Chisinau City Appeals Court on January 20 rejected the lawyers’ request to release Morari. The information was confirmed for IPN by Viorel Morari’s lawyer Vasile Foltea.

Also today, the Chisinau City Appeals Court rejected the prosecutors’ appeal against the judgment of the Ciocana Court by which the request for remand detention was partially accepted. Then, even if the prospectors asked for 30 days of arrest, the judge of inquiry issued a warrant for Morari’s arrest for 20 days.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the necessity of placing Viorel Morari in remand detention is dictated by the gravity of the offenses of which this is accused, the social resonance of the case, the circumstances that can make the person hamper the investigation and the possibility of avoiding criminal liability.

On January 10, Viorel Morari was classed as a suspect and placed under arrest for 72 hours. He is suspected of illegally accepting a complaint from Vladimir Plahotniuc in March 2017, taking later legal action based on this and falsifying a number of documents. This PGO said this was done in his own interests and in the interests of the complainer and persons close to this so as protect them from investigation in the bank fraud case and to obstruct the swift, complete and objective examination of this case. Viorel Morari pleads not guilty.