Former parliament member of Moldova risks up to eight years in prison after prejudicing state by MDL 700,000

Chisinau, 23 August /MOLDPRES/ – The Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office announced that it has completed the criminal investigation and filed the case with the former MP Pantelei Sandulachi, today, suspected of arbitrariness resulting in damaging the state budget by MDL 700 thousand /over €33 thousand/.

According to the info of the General Prosecutor's Office, in 2012 the Chisinau Court of Appeal ordered the state to pay to the former MP Sandulachi a moral and material damage amounting to €400,000 for delaying the examination of his case file. Even though the court's decision was not irrevocable, the Ministry of Finance ordered it to be executed and transferred the money to the former parliament member's bank account.

Subsequently, the prosecutors challenged the decision of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, which left the state budget without more than six million lei, at the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ). Consequently, after several court cases, the CSJ decided that Sandulachi would only receive €1000, and the rest of the money would be returned to the state.

Being aware about the decision of CSJ, the former MP raised MDL 700,000 from the bank account, which he used for personal purposes. So far, the amount of €399 thousand has not been restituted to the state budget by Pantelei Sandulachi, the money being taken out of the financial circuit, which has caused serious damage to the public interests.

The former Minister of Finance, who illegally authorized the transfer of €400,000 from state budget to the bank account of Sandulachi in 2012, has already been sentenced to three years imprisonment, with the deprivation of the right to occupy public term positions for five years.

If convicted of damage, Sandulachi risks from three to eight years in detention.

(Reporter A. Zara, editor A. Raileanu)