Water, sewerage supply enterprise from north Moldova city suspected of being embezzled by about 20 million lei

Chisinau, 30 May /MOLDPRES/ - Officers of the National Anticorruption Centre (CNA) and anticorruption prosecutors today made searches at economic agents and private persons suspected of having embezzled about 20 million lei from the Office Apa-Canal Balti.    

According to the CNA press service, the sum of money is contained in a preliminary report of the financial inspection. The latter has found out that, in 2013-2016, damage worth about 20 million lei was caused to the enterprise in the wake of fraudulent transactions. Two criminal files were opened on this case for embezzlement and money laundering.  

Thus, on the period January 2013-December 2016, the managers of the Municipal Enterprise Office Apa-Canal Balti would have contracted acquisitions of services and goods with tens of private persons and legal entities. Following these contracts, the companies were to provide the enterprise with specialized services and goods, which were not supplied in reality. Thus, damages in particularly large amounts were caused to the municipal enterprise.    

On the same period, the managers of the economic agents and the private people, contracted by Apa-Canal Balti, in co-participation with decision-takers of the enterprise, would have committed money laundering by implementing a scheme of concealing the illicit origin of money, legalizing the latter through transactions and purchases of fictitious services. Within the criminal prosecution, decision-makers found out that the concerned offences were committed in the same circumstances and by the same persons, and for this reason, both cases were connected.   

By accumulating evidence, anticorruption officers and prosecutors made searches at 30 enterprises and 17 private people in northern and central Moldova, as a result of which rough copies of documents bearing information about 400,000 lei were raised. At the same time, inquirers are to consider the evidence and decide on calling to the guilty persons to account.  

(Reporter A. Plitoc, editor M. Jantovan)