{"id":50,"date":"2009-01-10T23:46:33","date_gmt":"2009-01-10T21:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zdg.md\/eng\/?p=50"},"modified":"2020-06-10T18:57:42","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T15:57:42","slug":"politicians-corrupt-presents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/politicians-corrupt-presents\/","title":{"rendered":"Politicians\u2019 corrupt presents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Although the law restricts public clerks from keeping certain presents they receive from some people, they are not in a hurry to obey it. The legal entities also do not hurry to make someone responsible for such actions. Even though some presents constituted a cause for opening a case, the charges brought didn\u2019t refer to corruption or protectionism. They were rather related to smuggling. According to experts, this is due to a simple reason \u2013 the laws on gifts are not functional. Moreover, the special fund designated for collecting the \u201crestricted\u201d gifts is invisible. <!--more  continue--><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 271.5pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Pistols as gifts, \u201csuspected\u201d of smuggling<span style=\"mso-tab-count: 1;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The most popular gifts among politicians are guns, including the ones for hunting and swords, according to lawyer Nicolae Railean, former police commissioner. However, as explained by the lawyer, if one year someone received a simple weapon, then the next year the weapon is polished with gold, platinum or diamonds and its price can be up to 30 thousand Euros. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">In fact, for two guns received as a gift from foreign politicians, former Moldovan minister of Defense Valeriu Pasat was filed a legal case. Pasat, however, was and is still charged with the illegal introduction of these weapons into the country.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">One of the laws that regulated the gifts received by state clerks so far is the one on fighting corruption and protectionism, approved in 1996. Article Nr. 8 of the above mentioned law stated that \u201cthe gifts that value more than one minimum wage [&#8230;] received for carrying out work responsibilities from natural and legal persons from other countries are placed into a special fund\u201d. Otherwise, if the violation \u201cis not a punishable criminal act, it is followed by dismissal\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">As lawyer of Valeriu Pasat, Alexandru Tanase, told us his client was initially charged with not placing the guns in the state reserve, however, the charges were later withdrawn. \u201cFrom the point of view of the Criminal Code, it is not possible to legally integrate the fact of not placing the objects into the special reserve\u201d, Tanase also said.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">It seems that the former minister of Internal Affairs Gheorghe Papuc is in a similar situation. Even though the Prosecutor\u2019s office has not presented an official release for this matter, at the beginning of July, the information that Papuc is suspected of smuggling weapons appeared in the press. This is also a case of having illegally introduced two guns on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, which Gheorghe Papuc received as a gift from the head of the Odessa Police and Ukraine\u2019s minister of Internal Affairs when he was a minister. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">According to the daily publication \u201cTimpul\u201d, referring to a press agency, Papuc allegedly declared that \u201cthe prosecutors\u2019 charges are not serious, and they are based on cases of decorating the ministers of Internal Affairs from some CIS countries with a nominal parade weapon\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The General Prosecutor\u2019s Office press service has refused to tell us if this case, like others, violates the laws that stipulate certain restrictions for receiving gifts. The press service of the same institution even refused to offer us an example of sanctioning a clerk for keeping a present received during official meetings. We remind the fact that, since the beginning of the current year, the Parliament passed on three laws in this context. These are as follows: the law on conflict of interests, the law on the public clerk\u2019s conduct Code, which will be in force starting with January 1, 2009 and the law on preventing and fighting corruption, on the basis of which the law on fighting corruption and protectionism from 1996 was abrogated. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Invisible fund<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">As for the repealed law, most of the question marks are raised by the \u201cspecial fund\u201d into which politicians were suppose to deposit the gifts that valued more than a minimum wage. Even the presents received by family members from people in the country or abroad, with whom the clerk had professional relations, had to be transferred into the same fund. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The attempt to try to find out, from other state institutions, who manages this fund, how many presents were transferred in it and, in general, if this fund was even created, led to nothing. \u201cI believe it doesn\u2019t exist, because I\u2019ve tried to find out at least something, but it was pointless\u201d, Alexandru Tanase, lawyer of Valeriu Pasat, told us. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Experts from the Center for Analysis and Corruption Prevention (CACP) claim that this fund doesn\u2019t exist and never existed. \u201cSince it was approved 12 years ago, the law has been dead because the Government made no effort whatsoever to enforce it\u201d, CACP expert says. Despite this fact, the institutions and the clerks in charge can create an internal regime, where they would record the information about the gifts received by the institution\u2019s employees and their whereabouts. The legislation doesn\u2019t prohibit keeping such a record and any honest clerk could take the initiative in this context. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The Romanian state institutions work, in fact, similar to this way, based, however, on a law regulating to the measures concerning gifts. It stipulates that a commission of three persons is created within every institution, which evaluates and keeps record of the goods received by clerks, except for medals, decorations, etc. and office supplies estimated at about 50 Euros. Eventually, at the end of the year, the good\u2019s situation is solved. In other words, if the good\u2019s value established by the commission is more than 200 Euros, the person who received it can request to keep it only if he pays the difference. Otherwise, the goods remain in the institution\u2019s property or can be transferred for free to an institution in the related field or sold at an auction. Moreover, the authorities publish at the end of every year the list with the respective goods and their destination on the institution\u2019s official website or the Official Monitor. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong><span lang=\"IT\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Many men, many minds<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong><span lang=\"IT\" style=\"mso-ansi-language: IT; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u201cThe present that you receive forces you to something, because you are somewhat dependent on the person that offers it to you\u201d, Zoia Jalba, independent politician in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, believes. Although she was not able to offer a concrete example, the politician is certain that there are cases of gift offerings at a central level, which she considers a part of society\u2019s scourge, known as corruption. Zoia Jalba has also mentioned that \u201cwe have the so called \u201coffer of gifts\u201d, especially when solving a problem\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The law on conflict of interests is mentioned that receiving gifts during official meeting or diplomatic missions is prohibited, if their value, for one time, is more than one average national wage (around 2300 lei) and are transmitted to the management of the institution under consideration. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">According to Angela Starinchi, head of the department of foreign relations, protocol and mass media of the Center for Fighting Economic Crimes and Corruption, all of the presents received by the institution\u2019s management during official meetings, both local and abroad, are stated in the protocol room or the institution\u2019s museum. She mentioned, however, that they are not expensive objects and are usually protocol goods related to etiquette, like various paintings, pens, decorative plates etc., all bearing the institution\u2019s logo. \u201cSuch sets are used by any organization. We also give such gifts, and we are brought such gifts as well\u201d, Starinchi explains. The head of the department also mentions that there is no record of the gifts because they are usually meant for the institution and there are not so many delegations, which would require such a record keeping. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The Executive\u2019s press service announced us that one of the prime minister\u2019s councilors, who could have told us something about the gifts, is on vacation. However, we found out from the protocol Service of the Government Apparatus that the more personal objects, like perfumes and other cosmetic products, are obviously kept by the person receiving them. We couldn\u2019t discover more information, because, as it happens many times, the offer of gifts takes place in the absence of the employees of this service. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Dumitru Braghis, Social Democratic Party politician, declared that he was unaware of what happened to the gifts from the time he was in charge of the Executive, because the Office took care of that.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">He also said that the only gift he had kept from that time is an office supply set. \u201cI haven\u2019t really received so many gifts and I didn\u2019t have time for delegations, when I was a prime minister\u201d, the politician concluded.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">A book and a map<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">According to the Romanian press, president Traian Basescu, during his meetings, received 81 objects as gifts, including portraits, paintings, miniature boats and tanks, but also icons, valued up to 300-400 Euros. Out of them, Basescu decided to keep only 5. Therefore, Basescu took the steel sword with a one meter sheath, bearing his name inscription, received in February 2007 from the Polish president Lech Kaczinsky, valued at 190 Euros, but also the set of white boxing gloves offered by world champion Lucian Bute, whom he decorated in November. Basescu also included in his personal collection the 200 Euros gold coin, issued by Emperor Traian a few years after conquering Dacia and received in February 2007 from the National Bank of Romania governor Mugur Isarescu, a painting of 80 Euros and a box with three bottles of French wine, worth 150 Euros. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Judging by this concrete data, we\u2019ve tried to find out what gifts President Vladimir Voronin received during his official meetings, as well as what happens to them. Therefore, according to the Presidency\u2019s press release, the state\u2019s first person received in October 2006 from US Ambassador to Moldova, Heather Hodges, a three-dimensional map of the Republic of Moldova (1: 250\u00a0000 scale) with the size of 120&#215;145 cm. It was created by the US National Agency of Geospatial Research (NGA) for which digital prelevation of field data was used, that gave the three-dimensional effect. The same source informs that there are only 4 copies of the map: \u201cthe first copy is at NGA Headquarters, the second is at the US Embassy to Chisinau, the third, from now on, is in the president\u2019s office, and the forth copy will be donated to the Ministry of Defence of Moldova, with whom the US NGA has close cooperation relations\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">It is not known yet if Vladimir Voronin takes the map with him, after his presidential mandate ends or not. It is certain, though, that the price of it is over the legal admissible limit of what a clerk can receive as a gift. All this being said, the law doesn\u2019t stipulate what should be exactly done with this kind of objects.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Ghenadie Sarodoev, Head of the dynamic Geomorphology Laboratory, part of the National Academy of Science Institute of Ecology and Geography, cartography expert, was not able to tell us about how much such a map would cost but, he told us, as a clue, that creating an electronic map of the same scale would cost around 2500 Dollars. The US Embassy to Moldova also couldn\u2019t tell us how much a map offered to president Voronin would cost.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">A year later, the head of state received another worth being mentioned gift. We are talking about the German edition of Dimitrie Cantemir\u2019s work \u201cThe History of the Ottoman Empire\u201d, published in Hamburg in 1745, which he received from two directors of a Turkish constructions company. This book was later donated to the Library of the Academy of Science, a fact confirmed by its employees. We were not able to find out in what conditions the donation was made, because a couple of telephone numbers from the Presidency\u2019s apparatus were \u201con vacation\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Tatiana Placinta, head of the National Library\u2019s old and rare book Department, was not able to tell us the material value of this work, due to a number of bibliographic criteria she had to take into account while calculating the cost. She mentioned, however, that a patrimonial book is priceless. Other libraries were also not able to tell us how much would Cantemir\u2019s \u201chistory\u201d cost, but they have mentioned that it must be very expensive, given the fact that it\u2019s over 250 years old. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Voronin also received a horse. This was written in Timpul newspaper on November 24<sup>th<\/sup>, 2006. The horse\u2019s fate and the location where it\u2019s taken care of remain unknown.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">All are new and all are old<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Experts in legal matters believe that the new legislation in the field of preventing and fighting corruption doesn\u2019t contain directly applicable regulations, which failed to establish a clear mechanism in recording and declaring gifts.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">The new law on preventing and fighting corruption doesn\u2019t mention anything anymore about the special fund. Instead, receiving gifts from any person for the execution of working responsibilities or based on social status, except symbolic actions of attention, are considered acts of corrupt behavior and are punished according to the Criminal Code. Cristina <strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">Cojocaru, <\/strong>expert at the <strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">Center for Corruption Analysis and Prevention (CCAP), <\/strong>when referring to this law, declared that its final version is even worse than its project. Even though in the <strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">CCAP\u2019s<\/strong> expert analysis Report for the <strong style=\"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;\">project Law on preventing and fighting corruption, it is mentioned that it is more actual than the old one, <\/strong>it still contains norms with a corruptible potential. The analysis especially refers to establishing accountability for violating the project\u2019s stipulations, where the various forms mentioned are not concrete, which will lead to the possibility of a convenient interpretation of these stipulations. As reasoned by the experts, the accountability is the project\u2019s most problematic matter, namely due to the lack of description of the specific nature of the various forms of judicial accountability indicated in this project. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Independent politician Zoia Jalba mentions, referring to the recently approved legislation on the public clerk, where the gifts are also stipulated, that it is nothing more than a bunch of \u201cstrange things discussed in the Parliament\u201d. The politician argues its attitude with the fact that \u201cthe parliamentary majority, knowing very well that things will not improve, make the modifications in the legislation only to create a fake wall in front of the international organizations, to make them believe that things are getting better in the Republic of Moldova\u201d. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"font-size: small; font-family: Times New Roman;\">Published in Romanian on August 14<sup>th<\/sup> 2008<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The texts from the page www.zdg.md are taken over within the maximum limit of <strong>1,000 <\/strong>characters. The <strong>direct link<\/strong> to the downloaded article must be indicated in the case of web pages, <strong>IN LEAD<\/strong>, mandatory. At least one more hyperlink to the primary source must be indicated in the text. The media institutions that take articles or images for TV or radio shows will cite the source, and the printed editions will indicate the source and the author of the information. The materials on www.zdg.md are protected by Law 139 on copyright and related rights, including the Code of Ethics for Journalists in the Republic of Moldova. The full takeover of ZdG materials can be done only under the conditions of a prior agreement with the editorial office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although the law restricts public clerks from keeping certain presents they receive from some people, they are not in a hurry to obey it. The legal entities also do not hurry to make someone responsible for such actions. Even though some presents constituted a cause for opening a case, the charges brought didn\u2019t refer to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,20],"tags":[55,48],"autor":[182],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-investigations","category-justice","tag-corruption","tag-moldova","autor-nicolae-cuschevici"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Politicians\u2019 corrupt presents - Ziarul de Gard\u0103<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/politicians-corrupt-presents\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zdg.md\/en\/politicians-corrupt-presents\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Politicians\u2019 corrupt presents - Ziarul de Gard\u0103\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although the law restricts public clerks from keeping certain presents they receive from some people, they are not in a hurry to obey it. The legal entities also do not hurry to make someone responsible for such actions. 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