There are suspicions of retaliation and political motives. This is the opinion of some political commentators in the case of the five former MPs arrested on charges of illicit enrichment. Political pundit Ion Tăbârță says that prosecutors should promptly present evidence to dispel suspicions among the public that this might be a political job. Political commentator Nicolae Negru also wonders what was the reason of placing the five in custody if the alleged offenses took place seven years ago.

Ion Tăbârță says prosecutors have a duty to prove as soon as possible the guilt of the five arrested politicians to eliminate the apparent scent of a political witch-hunt.

“We have had plenty of such cases in the history of Moldovan justice that weren’t brought to completion. It is important now that these cases be backed up by solid evidence to end speculation that this is a political job, as those arrested and the people currently in opposition are trying to paint it. The fact that illicit enrichment is being been used as a course of action shows that prosecutors have not accumulated enough evidence to prove that the acts of bribery did take place. From the very moment of that transitioning from one party to another, it was clear that that group of lawmakers weren’t doing it for ideological reasons,” Ion Tăbârță told a talk show on TVR Moldova.

At the same time, the commentator Nicolae Negru says that Moldova’s political history has seen numerous cases of alleged political corruption, with party switching being a common occurrence in the Moldovan Parliament. The fact that the arrest targeted only a group of politicians that are currently affiliated with the Shor Party leaves room for interpretation.

Negru also questioned the logic of the arrest: “I’m talking about this old practice of putting people under preventive arrest for 30 days. For what purpose? Seven years have pasted since. How will the suspects be able to influence the investigation? It’s just the same reflex, the same old patterns of the prosecutors’ modus operandi”.

On Friday, Vladimir Vitiuc, Anatolie Zagorodnîi, Artur Reșetnicov, Sergiu Sîrbu and Violeta Ivanov were given 20 to 30 days of preventive arrest. All the five were once Communist lawmakers, before eventually joining the Democratic Party’s group alongside eight other defectors. It has long been reported that they accepted large bribes from the former Democratic Party’s boss Vlad Plahotniuc for the transition.