Five Moldovan Customs Service employees detained for corruption deeds

Chisinau, 26 May /MOLDPRES/ - The head of the customs checkpoints Mirnoe-Tabaki and Vulcanesti Rutier of the Cahul customs office, along with four employees of the same checkpoint today were detained by officers of the National Anticorruption Centre (CNA) and anticorruption prosecutors for passive corruption.   

According to the CNA press service, the customs inspectors would have systematically extorted and received sums of money, in order not to check transports units and goods, illegally introduced in Moldova from Ukraine. The five civil servants were claiming ten percent of the sum of goods, in order to further facilitate the customs regime, without the calculation of the goods’ value in customs and the payment of duties provided for by the law.  

During several months, the suspects were documented, and more deliveries of money were carried out under CNA’s control. Following special investigation measures, two of them were caught in flagrant delict. Thus, more sums of money were found, hidden in the office of the customs office head, who is presumed to be the scheme’s organizer. At the same time, searches were made at the homes of the customs officers too. All the five persons were recognized as suspects and detained for 72 fours. 

Three criminal files were opened on this case. If found guilty, the suspects run the risk of being sentenced to up to ten years of imprisonment, and get fines worth from 300,000 to 400,000 lei.  

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor A. Raileanu)