Three people, including two senior non-commissioned officers of the Sculeni Border Police Sector, have been convicted of passive bribery and influence peddling. The Buiucani branch of the Chisinau court decided to impose fines of between 100,000 and 275,000 lei after the defendants pleaded guilty, IPN reports.

According to the charges, between March and May 2021, the defendants accepted sums of money to facilitate illegal border crossings. They received €150 to allow uncontrolled crossings during the COVID-19 pandemic, €20 to pass a pressure washer without complying with customs procedures and €70 to illegally enter an unregistered vehicle into the database.

In addition, one of the defendants demanded €700 to influence colleagues not to penalize a person who had a false coronavirus test, another received €50 to allow a minor to pass without the necessary papers. Another sum of money was demanded for facilitating the registration of a foreign vehicle in another person's name.

The case was examined by the court for almost a year and a half, and the evidence gathered during the prosecution confirmed the charges against the defendants. In addition to the fines, the sentence includes confiscation of the illegally obtained money.

The authorities inform that the sentence, handed down on March 17, can be appealed within 15 days at the Court of Appeal Center.