Romanian officials are suspected of having taken bribes to issue false Romanian identity documents for citizens of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. On Wednesday morning, the police raided two mayor’s offices in Botoșani county and the Population Registration Services, Agerpres reports on its website, quoted by IPN.
According to county sources, searches are taking place at the mayor’s office in Bucecea town and Vârfu Câmpului commune, the rest of the raids being conducted at the homes where false residence was allegedly registered. A total of 90 searches were carried out.
The investigation aims to dismantle a network that, through civil servants from two Population Registration Services and two mayor’s offices, obtained false Romanian identity documents for persons born in the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
The false data refer to the person's domicile, which is fictitious, because the beneficiary has not lived and will never live at that address, but also to the name, surname, date of birth, place of birth. They were used to obtain the document confirming the identity, Romanian citizenship and, as the case may be, the domicile or residence in Romania.
Thus, in a commune in Botoșani county there are registered approximately 10,000 citizens originating from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation, the vast majority having their domicile at different addresses, without the prior consent of the owners, or on the basis of false declarations of residence.
The amounts paid to obtain a Romanian identity card reportedly varied between €350 and €400, depending on the services offered by the intermediary.
