The Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) announces that it has assigned former Minister of the Interior Alexandru Jizdan the status of suspect in two criminal cases – false statements and illicit enrichment.

The hearing of former Minister Jizdan by PCCOCS prosecutors took place on Thursday 30 June in the presence of his defence counsel.

“The assignment of the suspect status was preceded by searches in five locations in Chisinau and throughout the country. They were conducted under the direction of the specialized prosecutor’s office and with the support of the Intelligence and Security Service, and in order to strengthen the evidence, law enforcement officers found and collected for investigation a number of relevant documents and an information storage device. These were submitted for examination in the presence of the suspect and his defence counsel,” PCCOCS announced in a press release.

Investigations are continuing, and PCCOCS prosecutors will decide on the need to lay charges and assign another status to the suspect, during which time he will avail himself of the presumption of innocence under the law.

Prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) raided the home of former Interior Minister Alexandru Jizdan on Wednesday morning, 29 June.

Subsequently, in a reaction on Facebook, former MP of the Democratic Party of Moldova Alexandru Jizdan said that the searches were carried out at his home, his mother’s house and several other locations.

“This morning I welcomed the prosecutors and SIS officers home and provided all the necessary ground for them to do their job as the law dictates. During my professional activity as a minister and deputy, I acted in accordance with the law of the Republic of Moldova, and after leaving these state positions I had no grounds and no need to want to leave the country, or to hide from anything. That is why I am informing you that I will be receptive from now on, providing those investigating this case with all the necessary information, so that we can reach a finality generated by legal and transparent actions in this process. I will come back to you with information as we go along, so that this case will be reflected fairly and equitably from both sides,” Jizdan wrote.

In 2021, when Alexandru Jizdan was a deputy of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM), the National Integrity Authority (ANI) ordered the seizure of unjustified assets amounting to over 770 thousand lei and referred the matter to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) for false statements.

Subsequently, Jizdan challenged the ANI act in court.