The boy who was diagnosed with rabies after being scratched by a stray dog died last night in hospital. The case is believed to have happened in Chisinau’s suburban village of Ciorescu, and sanitary authorities are scouring the area to locate potentially infected animals.
Parliament’s Standing Commission on Economy, Budget and Finance examined a number of privatization and concession deals. As a result, Commission chair Igor Munteanu said Parliament will be asked to authorize a full-fledged audit of such deals concluded during 2013-2019. At the meeting, the Commission examined information collected from investigative reports concerning high-profile cases. Four deals will be looked into in particular: the privatization of Tutun CTC, the lease of the Chisinau International Airport under a public-private concession agreement, the privatization of the flag carrier Air Moldova, and the concession of the Bus Stations State Company. The audit is proposed to be conducted by the Court of Accounts, which is expected to present a report in Parliament within 60 days.
The leadership of Parliament and the Government handled the 2013 situation at Banca de Economii with “blatant cynicism”, stated Alexandru Slusari, chairman of the current inquiry commission investigating the $1B bank fraud. During a press briefing, Alexandru Slusari said that on July 18 the commission heard Oleg Reidman, the lawmaker who himself chaired a parliamentary inquiry into the BEM situation in 2013. “The puzzle is complete and we know about how the government was stripped of the BEM control stock. It was a display of blatant cynicism in both the Parliament and the Government,” Alexandru Slusari said. The bank fraud inquiry commission also heard Viorel Bîrcă, who held various leading positions within BEM. Alexandru Slusari said that, according to Viorel Bîrcă, decisions on issuing loans at BEM were being taken by BEM President Ilan Shor, Ivan Ursu, then security adviser, and jurist Stanislav Budza. “These three people embezzled Banca de Economii in a matter of days,” Alexandru Slusari said.
The sale of the insurance company Moldasig has been suspended. According to President Igor Dodon, a proper re-evaluation is needed before the firm can be put up for sale again, as the proceeds from the sale will count towards the recovery of the $1B bank fraud funds. The President said the authorities thwarted an unfair deal where the company was supposed to go for 15 million lei, whereas its real value was about 500 million lei.
Parliament’s Commission on National Security and Public Order each day receives documents confirming that multiple smuggling schemes have been at work in the last few years, especially during the PDM government; many public officials were, or are still, implicated, stated Commission chair Chiril Moțpan. Briefing journalists on the Commission’s work, Chiril Moțpan said in these schemes the criminal interests of some groups have intertwined with the interests of officials from the Ministry of the Interior, the Customs Service and over governmental agencies.
After the meeting of the Supreme Security Council, President Igor Dodon said the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) could soon propose lifting the immunity, including the parliamentary one, of particular persons if it accumulates the information needed for the purpose, related to the bank fraud. The PGO in its current make-up took steps to sequestrate asserts of persons who could have bene involved in the fraud. These are assets belonging to the commercial complex “Gemenii”, Prime TV channel and others. Also, a number of criminal cases started over the bank fraud are now pending.
Maia Sandu congratulated the state institutions that managed to persuade the European Commission, the European Union to disburse the first €14.54 million, unfreezing thus the foreign financing for Moldova. “It should be clear to everyone: this is a grant, a donation. This money is not reimbursed and from now on we have to work even more,” the Premier stated at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting.
The Chisinau Arena project, which is now about 70% complete, will be finished eventually, but it’s not known yet who will do it. According to President Igor Dodon, either the government will invest the money required to complete it, or if the state has other priorities, an investor will be found. A special inquiry commission has already been set up to look into how the public tender was conducted to award the project. According to Igor Dodon, there are many suspicious and non-transparent decisions around Chisinau Arena.
The urbanism certificate will be issued with the consent of all the co-owners and the realty/court neighbors, as it is provided in the amendments to the law on the authorization of building works that were approved by the Cabinet, which pleaded for a transparent mechanism for launching new building works and requested the lawmakers to specify the categories of interests and rights of neighbors that should be respected when a new construction is planned, for example, when the new construction limits access to sunlight.
The license authorizing the activity of duty-free shops on the territory of the Transnistrian region was suspended. President Igor Dodon told a news conference that a smuggling scheme through the duty-free stores working in Transnistria had been employed so far. (An informative note from the investigation bodies examining the activity of duty-free shops in the Transnistrian region, which was declassified by Prime Minister Maia Sandu, shows a n umber of products sold in these stores illegally reach Moldova. This also depicts schemes to smuggle cigarettes bought from these duty-free shops to the EU and specifies the damage done to the state by paying too low taxes.)
The Citizenship-by-Investment Program, the scheme allowing foreigners to purchase Moldovan nationality, will be formally suspended until some details are clarified. “We have some questions as regards the companies involved in the program. There is a well-known international company that has been attracted into this project, but there are also some smaller companies, including Moldovan ones, with suspicious owners,” Igor Dodon said.
The Carabineer Troops Department will be reorganized by transformation into the General Carabineer Inspectorate managed by the Ministry of the Interior. Until 2020, the conscripts will be progressively replaced with professionalized personnel employed on a contract basis. The Inspectorate’s mission is to defend the basic human rights and freedoms by maintaining, ensuing and restoring public order, by preventing and discovering offenses, by protecting the facilities of special importance, by preventing and combating terrorism and by ensuring peace in society.
Details on IPN!
