The National Integrity Authority (ANI) has refused to initiate a wealth and personal interests check on Labour and Social Protection Minister Alexei Buzu. This is despite the fact that the official declared at the end of September that the house he lives in is owned by his parents, but was allegedly built by him and his wife.

ANI was notified on 29 September, two days after the chairman of the “Democracy at Home” party, Vasile Costiuc, accused Minister Alexei Buzu of living with his family in a house “worth hundreds of thousands of euros” in the village of Ratuș in the Criuleni district.

In the text of the complaint, it was stated that “Alexei Buzu had wrongly indicated the right of residence on the property, when in the section “owner of the property” he indicated his father, the property actually belonging to him”.

According to the official information contained in the Real Estate Register “E-Cadastru”, to which ANI refers, the ownership of the land, on which is located the agricultural building with an area of 261 m. and the garage with an area of 39.7 m., with the date of registration of the right of ownership on 03.01.2020, belongs to the minister’s father.

“The Integrity Inspector notes that the form and content of the declarations of assets and personal interests correspond to the case in question, but Alexei Buzu was not obliged to declare the ownership of the real estate located in XXXXX, but only the right of residence, as the ownership of the property belongs to Alexei Buzu’s father”, it is stated in the report of refusal to initiate the control.

At the same time, ANI indicated that during the period of holding public office, from 16 February 2023, Alexei Buzu together with his family members did not acquire with right of ownership any real estate or movable property that would be subject to declaration.

ZdG previously wrote that Labour and Social Protection Minister Alexei Buzu said that the property he lives in, registered to his parents, was not transferred to his name as he “did not have time” and did not consider it “a problem that in the documents the house belongs to the parents”.

Alexei Buzu, who has been in office for almost eight months, says he has been living in the house in the Criuleni district for over two years.

“(…) The land on which the house is built belongs to my parents. The house was built largely from resources belonging to me and my wife. We have not been able to make this transfer of documents because it is a more complicated process. I have a lot to do, I didn’t have time and I didn’t consider it a problem that in the documents the house belongs to my parents as long as I haven’t worked in a public position until now. The declaration I filled in when I took office was in accordance with the law. So, in that declaration, all the sources of income that I have, the properties, which are not so many, and according to the law I also indicated the house where I live (…). And my wife communicated very clearly. I have not moved into this house since I took office (…).

(…) I have contracts, all my income has been transferred to banks and can be verified. I have been a minister for almost eight months, I have been living in this house for almost two years and a bit. All the income that I made to make this house, I made before I became minister. So in my case I don’t see a problem. Certainly any public person, including myself, has to, and we have a proactive obligation to explain to all citizens what the source of income is, which is where I have tried to provide that clarity. I didn’t work for the state until I came to the position of minister (…) I didn’t take possession of the house on paper and then transfer it to my parents to hide something. From the beginning it was like that because we were going to do this, it was Covid, I have a small child, I had a very busy schedule at work and I didn’t succeed (…) I didn’t declare anywhere publicly that I didn’t live in a house (…)”, said the minister.

He also explained the land on which the house was built, which was originally intended for agricultural construction.

“(…) The land was for agricultural use, we went through a procedure whereby the use of this land was changed. This means that we submitted the file to the City Hall, we paid this quite substantial difference to change the destination. We paid about 80 000 lei for the difference in price and now the land is for construction (…)”, said Alexei Buzu.

The official noted that the last salary he received as minister was 41 thousand lei.

On September 26, 2023, the chairman of the “Democracy at Home” party, Vasile Costiuc, accused the Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Alexei Buzu, of living with his family in a house “worth hundreds of thousands of euros”, located in the village of Ratus in the Criuleni district. Representatives of the political party claim that the property has not been declared, which is why they demanded the minister’s resignation.

• Alexei Buzu, for his part, said on that day that he was not the real owner of the property, but that the right to live in the house had been acquired through a verbal agreement of habitation, which is reflected in his property register. The official said he would take legal action against “those responsible for denigration and misinformation”.

• In the declaration of wealth and personal interests, consulted by Ziarul de Gardă, it is indicated that Aslexei Buzu has the right of habitation in a building acquired in 2020, but he is not its owner. The official did not mention in his wealth statement what the surface area of the building is, nor what its value is. Also listed in his assets act, filed with the National Integrity Authority on 10 March 2023, was a KIA car belonging to the Buzu family. The car was acquired in 2021 and is said to be worth €12 590.

• Cadastral data consulted by ZdG shows that the house was built on a 0.082 ha plot of land, officially registered in Drăsliceni commune, Criuleni district. The building measures 261.8 square meters. A garage – 39.7 square meters – was also registered on this land. The ownership of the two properties belongs to the parents of Minister Alexei Buzu.