A civilian from northern Moldova and three officers of the Otaci customs post, including two shift heads, are investigated for acts of corruption. According to the National Investigation Center, the man gave US$500 bribe to the three custom officers for allowing him to illegally take out of the country a car with a foreign license plate, which stayed over the legal period of six months in the Republic of Moldova, IPN reports.

One of the customs officers took the car out of the country’s territory, while the second officer shortly registered the entrance of the car in the name of a nonresident person by introducing the information in the database.

During searches, the mobile phones of the four persons were seized. A criminal case over active corruption, passive corruption and influence peddling was started.

Under the Penal Code, passive corruption (bribe taking) carries imprisonment of five to ten years, a fine of 300,000 to 400,000 lei and ban on holding public posts or performing a particular activity for a period of seven to ten years. Active corruption (bribe giving) is punished with a jail term of three to seven years or a fine of 200,000 to 300,000 lei, while influence peddling with a fine of 100,000 to 150,000 lei or at most three years in prison.