Iurie Chirinciuc, former Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure was sentenced to jail time by the Chișinău Court of Appeal, but released shortly afterwards. On August 20, Chișinău’s Ciocana district Court was set to issue a search warrant for Chirinciuc – but the announcement was inexplicably delayed. After ZdG published news about the delay of the August 20 meeting, Chirinciuc called ZdG’s newsroom. Here’s what he had to say. 

Law enforcement detained the former Minister of Transport and member of the Liberal Party, Iurie Chirinciuc, on April 27, 2017, along with a few businessmen and the then interim head of the State Road Administration, Veaceslav Teleman. 

According to the indictment, Chirinciuc is accused of impeding the work of the Bulgarian company Patstroy JSK and its subcontractor, SRL Ecosem Grup, which were carrying out the repair project for the R6-M1 Ialoveni road. 

Chirinciuc and Teleman wanted to obtain part of the workload from the two companies in favor of two affiliated companies, Nouconst and Global Trans. They allegedly requested various sums of money from the Bulgarian company and its subcontractor through intermediaries and representatives of economic agents. 

According to the indictment, Chirinciuc abused his functional duties for personal interest. Chirinciuc used the construction of an access road to Floreni as a pretext for building an access road to Lefcons Agro, which he founded together with Plăcintă Anatolii. He didn’t organize a public auction for the construction, the costs of which were estimated at 425,230 euros (8.4 million lei).    

On May 15, 2019, judges Oxana Robu, Igor Mînăscurtă and Silvia Gîrbu rejected Chirinciuc’s appeal against the judgment of the first court. However after allowing the prosecutors’ and Teleman’s requests, the judges issued another decision.

The prosecutor asked to replace the three years prison sentence with three years imprisonment in a semi-open jail, a fine of 1,721 euros (34,000 lei) and the deprivation of the right to perform public functions for five years. 

Following the sentencing, Chirinciuc was not found at home and could not be detained, therefore, in accordance with the May 15, 2019 decision of the Chișinău Court of Appeal, the police requested that the investigating magistrate issue a search warrant. 

Chișinău’s Ciocana district Court scheduled a meeting for August 20,  to issue a search warrant in Chirinciuc’s name, but the meeting was later postponed. Neither the Chișinău Court nor the police would state the reason for the postponement.

Chirinciuc dissatisfied with ZdG’s coverage of his conviction

ZdG was initially unable to reach the former Minister to comment on the case. Chirinciuc later returned our calls, declaring that his case is a political one and that he would demonstrate this to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). 

“You know quite well that this is a political case. You know that we had a captive justice system and yet, you are still mocking Chirinciuc and talking about all the miseries that are being done now. […] Isn’t it shameful to write down all the nonsense and misery? […] You have to write that Chirinciuc was convicted by a corrupt justice system and [that this] is a political case. I did not bring any damage to the state of Moldova,” the former minister said.

When asked to specify whether or not he is in the country, Chirinciuc claimed that he is in Moldova. The photo from the seaside that he published on social media at the time the Police were looking for him to enforce the court’s sentence, was allegedly from two years ago. 

When asked to comment on the Police request to announce a search for him after he could not be found at his home, Chirinciuc stated: “I do not run from responsibility.”

“I have told you, that [you] aren’t doing what you need to do. Leave me alone to solve the problems with the corrupt justice [system], which you have condemned for years. A justice [system] that no one has acknowledged, condemns me and you are with them, with the police and the system that is still alive in Moldova. 

Mind your own business, I will solve the problems, I will reach the ECHR. I’m going to get to where I am going to get, and I’ll prove to you that I’m not guilty. I am firmly convinced that you are working for someone,” the former minister replied. 

During the last three months ZdG called and messaged Chirinciuc for further clarification on the subject, however he did not respond. But after ZdG wrote about the postponement of the meeting to issue a search warrant, he called in. 

“Don’t you have other problems? Did you solve all of them? Did you return the billion?” Chirinciuc asked a ZdG reporter.

“Leave me alone! Why are you f*****g me so much? [Have] A good evening! ”  Chirinciuc said, after which he hung up the phone. 

• Former Minister Iurie Chirinciuc, Sentenced to Imprisonment and Sought by the Police, Posts Pictures from a Holiday at Sea