33 municipal councillors allegedly showed “excess of power” when they voted in mid-December 2022 on the six zonal urban planning projects, according to an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA).The information was confirmed for Ziarul de Gardă by Angela Starinschi, CNA spokeswoman.

“The minutes of the violation were sent to be examined according to the competence of the Chisinau Court, Buiucani headquarters,” said Angela Starinschi.

On 19 December 2022, the CNA claims to have investigated alleged misconduct by some municipal councillors of the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) during the voting on six zonal urban planning projects.

“In this regard, a contravention process was initiated under Article 313 of the Contravention Code on the part of excess of power. Subsequently, on 28 December 2022, a complaint was also received from a group of municipal councillors who requested verification of the legality of the voting on the mentioned projects.

As a result of the investigations carried out by the NAC, the contravention of the excess of power, committed by 33 municipal councillors, was found”, added Angela Starinschi.

On 20 December 2022, the CMC voted on the first four of the six zonal urban planning projects (PUZ) about which the suspended deputy mayor, Victor Chironda, said that they “provide for the construction of several dozen 15-19 storey residential blocks with thousands of apartments and tens of thousands of square metres of commercial space” and that all “the land concerned has restriction codes” relating either to the further development of the city’s infrastructure or to “the prohibition of building residential blocks” in the area concerned.

The four PUZs approved by the CMC at the time were voted for by 13 councillors of the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM), 7 municipal councillors belonging to the “ACUM DA Platform” faction, Valerii Klimenko – from the Shor party, Corneliu Pântea – councillor of the Party of National Unity (PUN), Ivan Filimon – Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM) and Ivan Filimon – member of the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PPR). Moldova, Victor Mîndru – Democratic Party (PD), and Aliona Mandatii, Ala Tiscul, Serghei Afanasenco, Valentin Cebotari and Veaceslav Nedelea, unaffiliated municipal councillors.

Subsequently, on 21 December 2022, the CMC approved two more zonal urban planning projects (PUZ), out of the six that have sparked public discussion. Dumitru Ivanov, secretary of the PAS faction in the CMC, said during that meeting that for “the first time six PUZs are voted in record time” and that “these projects are without the Ministry’s opinion as required by law and have several deviations from the regulations in force”.

“The PAS faction in the CMC will not support these projects and will refer them to all competent bodies, including anti-corruption,” he said.

Former Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu said earlier that he would refer the matter to the Chisinau State Chancellery Office to verify the legality of the zoning plans approved by municipal councillors.