Law enforcement officers are conducting searches in 12 criminal cases started for active corruption, passive corruption and influence peddling in aggravating circumstances. Four judges, a prosecutor and three lawyers are under investigation, IPN reports.

According to the National Anticorruption Center (NAC), the prosecutor, judges and lawyers are investigated for acts of corruption in criminal and contravention cases that are tried by the Hîncești Court and the Centru Court of Appeals.

The 30 searches are being carried out in a number of localities.

The NAC noted that the suspects allegedly favored the settlement of particular cases in exchange for sums of money or other illegal benefits. Some of the people who offered bribes to judges through intermediary lawyers started to cooperate with anticorruption officers.

The permission to carry out searches and hold the judges concerned criminally responsible was issued on Wednesday morning by the Superior Council of Magistracy.

A judge and a lawyer were arrested for 72 hours and placed in the NAC’s remand unit. The other suspects will be investigated in a state of freedom.