Officers of the Complex Investigations Directorate of the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI), together with the General Directorate for Criminal Prosecution (DGUP), under the leadership of the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), announce that they have uncovered the activity of a “criminal scheme” at several petrol stations in the north of Moldova, aimed at cheating customers, a statement said on Tuesday, March 21.

Law enforcement officers have established that petrol station officials have installed specially adapted technical devices at fuel pumps, which once put into operation deliver reduced quantities of fuel, and “the surplus fuel is sold to customers without being issued tax receipts by the cash register and control apparatus, thus damaging the interests of the state and customers in particularly large proportions”.

“On 17 March this year, the police carried out searches at four petrol stations, as well as at the homes, offices and cars of the suspects, where they found and seized technical devices, mobile phones, hard disks, ledgers with draft entries, accounting documents, fuel in the volume of 2,500 litres without documents of origin, financial means without justified origin, etc.

Investigations are continuing in order to establish all the circumstances and persons involved,” the press release said.

According to the law, the persons concerned in the investigations are presumed innocent until a final court decision is handed down.