CNA officers raided Agency for Intervention, Payments in Agriculture

Chisinau, 28 May /MOLDPRES/- The National Anticorruption Center / CNA / and anti-corruption prosecutors conduct criminal prosecution aimed at a corruption scheme which includes high-ranking officials of the Agency for Intervention and Payments in Agriculture (AIPA), the National Federation of Farmers of Moldova (FNFM) and several economic agents operating in the agricultural field.

According to CNA, it was established that since 2019 decision-makers of the AIPA Payments Authorization Department with other senior officials of the Agency would have paid subsidies from the National Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development and from external financial assistance projects (over 100 million lei), including from the World Bank to applicants who do not meet the mandatory conditions and eligibility criteria.

Following the investigation, it was found that several companies receiving subsidies are run by relatives and intermediaries, who are in conflict of interest with civil servants responsible for authorizing payments. It was also found that several companies benefited from subsidies contrary to the legal norms, after agreeing to send to AIPA officials a commission of 10 percent of the value of the subsidies obtained.

Based on the evidence during the criminal investigation phase, the  CNA officers and the anti-corruption prosecutors raided this morning the offices and homes of AIPA employees and the offices of enterprises and households that benefited from subsidies.

Thus, criminal prosecution was carried out at the offices and homes of deputy head of the Agency for Intervention and Payments for Agriculture, head of the Payments Authorization Department and head of the Project Administration and Approval Department, and at the office of executive director of the National Federation of Moldovan Farmers. At the same time, the premises of 17 companies, which benefited from subsidies, were searched. These are enterprises and households with headquarters in Chisinau, Rascani, Donduseni, Anenii-Noi, Straseni, Comrat, Floresti, Nisporeni, Telenesti and Orhei.

CNA officers and prosecutors seized from suspects electronic media for storing computer data, documents, correspondence, draft entries, grant files, as well as money.

photo: CNA