Anticorruption prosecutors and officers of the National Anticorruption Center arrested two so-called businessmen and a high-ranking official of the Tax Inspectorate within a criminal case concerning money laundering, passive corruption and traffic of influence. The three obliged economic entities to pay sums of millions of lei for ensuring protection on the part of the Tax Inspectorate.

Within the scheme used by the three, problems with the Tax Inspectorate were created to some of the companies. The ‘businessmen’ appeared meanwhile and promised to solve their problems. The sums asked for protection were enormous.

The amounts in the case examined by the National Anticorruption Center come to about 1.5 million lei. The suspects were caught in the act of taking US$20,000 transmitted under control.

Head of the Center’s Prosecution Division Bogdan Zumbreanu told a news conference on Tuesday that another 8 million lei was to be transmitted by the Center through persons under cover next week. “We could not afford such a sum. Circumstances appeared during the operation and the documentation period was shortened. The arrest was made with the transmission of US$20,000,” he stated, adding that this was the largest sum ever hander on under the Center’s control.

Bogdan Zumbreanu also said that after the arrest, an economic entity admitted that they offered 180,000 lei bribe to the same persons.

The so-called businessmen face up to seven years behind bars, while the Tax Inspectorate’s employee – up to ten years in jail and a fine of up to 60,000 lei.