Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Vadim Brînzan claims that “a group of people incorporated criminal schemes like those used in the 1990s into the government structure and turned the whole country in their own business.” According to minister, the organization raked in no less than 400 million lei from these schemes each month.  “Almost all the economic institutions were controlled by the Democratic Party’s overlords,” Vadim Brînzan told a press briefing.

The minister added that “these people acted like barons in the Middle Ages collecting tribute from businesses and state-owned enterprises, wherever their sticky fingers could reach, and some of them are still doing this today.” According to Vadim Brînzan, “the money was being gathered into the party’s budget and then redirected to those who ran the system. Those who refused to pay were jailed, blackmailed or their businesses were taken away.”

Fadei Nagachevski, adviser to the Parliament Speaker, said no one intends to remove Eduard Harunjen from the post of prosecutor general. Discussions will be held on how this was named prosecutor general as, under the legislation, the candidate for this post shouldn’t have been a member of the Superior Council of Prosecutors during the six months prior to his appointment, while Eduard Harunjen had been a member of the Council. “I wonder if he was in general compatible with this post and how he was appointed to it,” stated Fadei Nagachevski.

MP of the ACUM Bloc Vladimir Bolea said Eduard Harunjen was named chief of the Prosecutor General’s Office with two big irregularities. The first irregularity is the fact that a person who had held the post of member of the Superior Council of Prosecutors during the past six months cannot apply for prosecutor general. The second is that the prosecutors chosen as members of the Superior Council of Prosecutors detach themselves from posts while in office. “These two conditions were violated in the case of the appointment of Mister Harunjen,” stated the MP. According to him, these are very serious reasons that can be used to remove Harunjen from the post of prospector general.

In a press statement, the Superior Council of Prosecutors said it never planned to assemble on July 9, as announced earlier by Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Năstase. The prosecutors’ governing body, which is part of the judiciary, noted no representative of the legislative or executive has the authority to convoke it. Promoting the idea that such a request would have any legitimacy, suggests SCP, would undermine the principle of separation of powers and “could be considered as an attempt to put pressure on the Superior Council of Prosecutors. “Given that Mr. Andrei Năstase gave up his seat in Parliament and therefore is no longer a member of the relevant standing commission, convening a meeting in such a format is also no longer an option,” added SCP in its press statement, which was also sent to public authorities, civil society, and foreign embassies.

Parliament passed a motion finding that Eduard Harunjen had not been eligible to become Prosecutor General and recommending the President to “terminate his employment”. The motion was adopted with 56 votes as the Democratic group walked out in protest.

Moldova Agroindbank (MAIB) has announced it is offering a total 1 000 000 lei in rewards for information that leads to the arrest of those involved in emptying a safe deposit room at Chisinau branch last Saturday. Anyone with information that could contribute to the investigation and recovery of the stolen cash and items is encouraged to reach MAIB by email at urgente@maib.md, or by calling +373 69268348 or +373 68093777.

Prime Minister Maia Sandu had a meeting with Jürgen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman for the parliamentary group formed of the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Germany. The Premier thanked the authorities of Germany for the provided continuous support and reiterated the Moldovan Government’s intention to improve the bilateral relations with the European partners. Maia Sandu assured that among the main objectives of the executive continue to be the fight against corruption, strengthening of the state institutions and improvement of the quality of people’s lives in general.

The Government has offered 99,130 ​​lei in food expenses for the people who lost their homes after a block of flats collapsed in Otaci town in June. Prime Minister Maia Sandu told a press conference that an expert committee is working in Otaci to determine the cost of the apartments in the collapsed building. “In the meantime, prices have increased on the market. Someone is trying to take advantage of people’s misfortune and increases the prices on information that the government will compensate for costs,” said Maia Sandu. She noted the authorities responsible for verifying buildings didn’t do their job, as the  Otaci blocks had been inhabited since 1990 even before a formal permit was issued. “Other blocks will be checked, too, on my instructions. Poor management can lead to such dramas,” said Maia Sandu.

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