The case of the “defector MPs” has been closed after three years of investigation, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) announced on Wednesday, January 25. According to the PA, the criminal case was closed on the grounds that “the criminal acts attributed to them do not meet the elements of a crime”.

At the same time, the Prosecutor’s Office says that the criminal proceedings are continuing on the charges brought against the 13 ex-deputies for committing the crime of illicit enrichment.

“The main evidence in the indictment were the statements of the former MP from the Party of Communists, Elena Bondarenco, made public already in 2016, which could not be confirmed by other evidence. Moreover, the witness in question died on 04.07.2022,” PA representatives note.

On Thursday, 29 December 2022, according to the PA, “as a result of carrying out all the required criminal prosecution actions and exhausting the legal avenues for the administration of evidence”, the indicted persons were removed from criminal proceedings and the criminal case was closed “on the grounds that the criminal acts imputed to them do not meet the elements of the composition of a crime”.

They are Violeta Ivanov, Artur Reșetnicov, Alexandru Banicov, Vladimir Vitiuc, Victor Mîndru, Sergiu Stati, Anatolie Gorilă, Petru Porcescu, Anatolie Zagorodnîi, Galina Balmoș, Igor Vremea, Elena Gudumac and Corneliu Mihalache.

The prosecution in the criminal case was initiated in October 2019 by Acting Prosecutor General Dumitru Robu, “on the basis of a reasonable suspicion of committing the crime of active bribery,” the Prosecutor’s Office said.

Subsequently, 14 other criminal cases initiated by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office on alleged unlawful actions of 14 former MPs of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova, who, according to a complainant, sent and received sums ranging from 200,000 euros to 300,000 euros between November and December 2015 in order to leave the faction of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova in Parliament and in their capacity as MPs to vote on bills submitted by the Democratic Party, were connected to this criminal case.

Having been charged with committing the offences, all the defendants did not admit their guilt, denying having committed the offences.

On 2 February 2022, prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PA) and officers of the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) raided the homes of 13 former MPs suspected of illicit enrichment.

On 4 February, magistrates of the Chisinau Ciocana court ordered five former MPs – Violeta Ivanov, Vladimir Vitiuc, Anatolie Zagorodnyi, Serghei Sirbu and Artur Reșetnicov – to be placed in solitary confinement. At the time, Violeta Ivanov was remanded in custody for 20 days and Zagorodnyi, Vitiuc, Sirbu and Reșetnicov for 30 days.

On 2 February, Artur Rishetnicov, one of 13 former Communist MPs under investigation for illicit enrichment, detained for 72 hours following searches by anti-corruption prosecutors, declared a hunger strike.

Former MP Sergiu Sîrbu, detained in the case of the 13 defector MPs, is also alleged to have disclosed information about the criminal proceedings to be taken by anti-corruption prosecutors.