A lawyer from Chisinau is to pay a fine of 300 thousand lei after being convicted of influence peddling. The court also admitted the civil action and ordered the lawyer to pay €13,000 for the material damage caused. In addition to these sums, €14,500 – the equivalent of the bribe received – was confiscated from the defendant’s account, IPN reports.
According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, in October 2018, the defendant initially demanded and received €8,000, later another €5,000, from the relative of a client. The money was to influence the magistrates of the Chisinau Court of Appeal, who were about to examine the appeal on the first instance’s judgment on the transfer of a person convicted by a foreign state for further execution of sentence in Moldovan penitentiary institutions, with the request to re-qualify the convicted person’s actions.
The CAC Criminal College rejected the said appeal, which is why, in February 2019, the defendant additionally requested and received another 1500 EUR, this time claiming that he has influence over the magistrates of the Chisinau Court, Ciocana branch, and can favor the application of amnesty to the convicted person.
Although the defendant pleaded not guilty during the trial, which lasted almost 6 years, the court assessed the evidence and found him guilty.
In addition to the fine, the Buiucani branch of the Chisinau Court deprived the lawyer of the right to practice as a defense lawyer and to provide legal consultancy services for a period of four years. The sentence can be appealed to the Court of Appeal Center within 15 days.
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