A former mayor of a commune in the Cantemir district has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for passive corruption and forgery. He was also fined 400 thousand lei, IPN reports.

According to the Cahul prosecutors, between November 2018 and August 2019, after concluding a contract with a company to carry out repairs to the Culture House in the commune, the mayor extorted and received from the deputy director of the construction company the sum of 300 thousand lei. The money was given to him in order not to create impediments and to sign the minutes of acceptance of works.

After taking the money, even though the works had not been fully completed, the Mayor signed and authenticated the minutes of acceptance of the works, at an exaggerated cost, totaling more than 4 million lei, thus causing material damage to the City Hall.

The defendant pleaded not guilty during the trial, but the court decided otherwise. In addition to imprisonment and a fine, he was disqualified from holding public office for 10 years.