INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION PAPER
Oleg Crismaru

I. INTRODUCTION
Corruption remains among the top concerns of the population of the Republic of M oldova, being
fifth after the problems which follow immediately the issues related to the survival of the individual
and his family.1 According to Transparency International Moldova,the Global Corruption Barometer2 shows that two thirds of Moldovan respondents argue that corruption is a serious problem affecting
the public sector and 64% reveal that institutions are ʻ
capturedʼby private interests groups.
Justice and police are considered the most corrupt institutions in M oldova,which is followed by the
Parliament and political parties. 55% of respondents considered ineffective M oldovan government
efforts in combating corruption,and 54% of respondents claim that ordinary people can contribute to
the fight against corruption, and about half of them are willing to denounce corruption.
Recently,public awareness of the threat posed by corruption has increased.If 10 years ago the mainpart of respondents considered poverty as the main cause of corruption, at present two thirds of the
respondents understand that corruption causes poverty. The share of households that understand theimpact of corruption on poverty increased from 56.8% in 2008 to 66.9% in 2012.Among business people,
their share increased from 57.1% in 2008 to 63.5% in 2012.
A survey conducted by Transparency International-M oldova3 determined the institutions where
unofficial payments are made most frequently.
Frequency of bribes offeredby business 2012, %Frequency of bribes offered
by individuals 2012,%

Total amount of bribed estimated 〜 31,2
million USD (＋49% compare to 2008)

Total amount of bribed estimated 〜 58,6
million USD (＋15% compare to 2008)

Senior Criminal Investigative Officer of the National Anti-corruption Center, Republic of M oldova.
1National AntiCorruption Strategy 2011-2015 approved by the Decision nr. 154 from 21 Jul. 2011 of Parliament of

Republic of M oldova published in Official M onitor nr.166-169/483 from 07 Oct. 2011.
2＜http://www.transparency.md/content/view/1825/49/lang,en/＞.
3Sociological Study Corruption in Republic of Moldova 2012:Perceptions vs. Personal Experiences of Households andBusiness People conducted by Transparency International-M oldova with the support of the U.S. State Department andin collaboration with the Center for Sociological Studies and Marketing “CBS-AXA”.

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According to the calculations,the total amount ofbribes paid byhouseholds made in 2012 was about
732.7 million Lei, increasing in absolute terms, compared to 2008, by over 15%.
Households ― Evolution of Total Bribes (M ill. Lei)
2005

2007

2008

2012

Police

81.5

79.9

97

45.4

Education

126

76.5

64

185

Health care

200

153

190

238

Other

493.6

280.6

279

264.3

TOTAL

901.1

590

630

732.7

The total amount of bribes paid by businesses in 2012 amounted to about 390 million Lei,increasing
by approximately 49% compared to 2008. The main payments were made to the customs officers (75million Lei),health care institutions (41.6 million Lei),police (41 million Lei)and fiscal inspectors (32.4
million Lei).
Estimated Total Bribes:Businesses, Mill. Lei
Customs75

Health care system

41.6

Police41

Fiscal inspectorates

32.4

Fire inspectors

31.8

The evolution of the estimated total amount of bribes paid by businesses shows 150% growth of thisindicator compared to 2008, which cannot be explained only by inflation and, essentially, proves aworsening of the business environment in M oldova.
Businesses ― Evolution of Total Bribes (Mill. Lei)

Conclusions of national and international reports and studies outline the following problems andsectors vulnerable to corruption: lack of a stable anti-corruption legal framework, coherent andadjusted to international standards;lack of efficient mechanisms of law enforcement;reduced use ofadministrative instruments of preventing and combating corruption; low level of confidence of the
population in the performance of the law enforcement agencies; activity of the state and politicalinstitutions which is not sufficiently transparent;lack of transparency in public procurement;insufficient budgetary resources for proper activity of authorities entitled to protect the legal norms and the
judicial system;insufficient anti-corruption education and training of public officials and population;
absence of sector studies which would reveal the magnitude of the corruption phenomenon.

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Paying particular attention to Effective Measures to prevent and Combat Corruption and to encourage Cooperation between the Public and Private Sectors,I will cover the main issues related to cooperation between these two sectors as follows.

II. ANTI-CORRUPTION LINES
Anti-corruption lines are effective tools for preventing and combating corruption and encourage
cooperation between the public and private sectors as they allow population to report acts of corruption or abuse of civil servants in the time of their commission. Hotlines protect the identity of thewhistle-blower if he /she does not intend to disclose it and allow civil society to be consulted on theissues faced in dealing with public authorities. M ost ministries and state agencies in the Republic of
M oldova have hotlines,but their names differ from one institution to another (hotline,anti-corruptionline, green line). The working hours of anti-corruption hotlines, as a rule, coincide with the working
hours of the institutions concerned. The hotline of main authority in the field of preventing andcombating corruption is the National Anti-corruption Centerʼs 24-hour working regime.
M ost institutions provide satisfactory visibility of the phone number of anti-corruption line,either
by placing it on the homepage of the institution website, or by creating a separate section “
Anticorruption”on the site.However,there are cases when the hotline numbers are difficult to be found on
the site and at the Ministry of Justice anti-corruption phone number can be found only in the ministerʼsantechamber.
Hotline activity issues are related to insufficiency of anti-corruption hotline regulations,failure in
ensuring high dissemination among society regarding existence of hotlines,visibility of phone numbersof anti-corruption hotlines on web pages and information boards, lack of skilled staff in charge ofcommunication with citizens able to ensure proper functioning of anti-corruption lines.

III. REPORTS OF FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNITS
Another efficient instrument of cooperation between the public and private sectors is related to
information about suspicious transaction reports from Financial Institutions to Financial Intelligence
Units. This partnership is regulated through the adoption by the Republic of M oldova of the Law on
preventing and combating money laundering and financing of terrorism from 26 July 2007.4 According
to this law, financial institutions are required to inform immediately the Office for Prevention andFight Against M oney Laundering of the National Anti-corruption Center on any activity or any
suspicious transactions of money laundering and financing of terrorism in preparation,implementationor already completed. Also the Office for Prevention and Fight Against M oney Laundering analyzes
all activities or transactions in cash with a value of at least 100 thousand Lei or by transfer with anamount of 500 thousand Lei and higher made in Moldovan banks.In case ofsuspicious transactions,thematerials are delivered to the prosecution body of the National Anti-corruption Center for further
investigations.

IV. DECLARATION OF INCOME AND PROPERTY
An efficient tool for civil society monitoring of public servants integrity during their public activity
serves mandatory declaration of income and property of people with public positions,judges,prosecutors, civil servants and persons with public responsibility.
According to the law,declaratory entities are required to declare on oath,income and property ofincome through the Declaration ofincome and propertywhich shall be in writing and represent a public
document. Correctness control of the declarations of income and property shall be performed by the
National Integrity Commission in accordance with Commission Regulation approved by Parliament.If
subjects intentionally indicated in the declaration inaccurate or incomplete data they carry liability
under art. 3521 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of M oldova.

4Published 07 Sep. 2007 in Official M onitor of the Republic of M oldova Nr. 141145.

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It should be mentioned that because of parliamentary debates on the appointment of the membersof National Integrity Commission, the activity began only in late 2012. At present the Commissionʼswork is seriously hampered by the existing legal framework,which limits its powers of investigation,by lack of staff and delays in submitting statements by the declaratory entities. Also the enacting of
the criminal liability for illicit enrichment is hampered by different opinions among the politicalparties. A novelty in the legislation of the Republic of Moldova is introducing of integrity tests andlifestyle monitoring of the National Anti-corruption Center staff.

V. INSTITUTION OF WHISTLE-BLOWERS
By Law Nr. 277 of 27 December 20115 whistle-blower institution was established and relevant
provisions of the Law on Preventing and Combating Corruption and the Code of Conduct for Civil
Servants have been filled in this regard.The law defines whistle-blower as a public official who learned
about acts of corruption and those related to corruption,acts of corrupt behaviour and communicatesthem to the criminal investigative body, Prosecutor, NGOs and the media.
The law establishes three measures to protect whistle-blowers, and failure in protection measuresof public servant are punished under the Contravention Code with a fine of up to 3,000 M oldavian Lei.
At the moment the outcomes of this institution are not yet visible due to the lack of public servants
information and lack of promotional campaign of this institution. Therewith, previous practice has
shown that whistle-blowers reports usually caused negative consequences for those who report,somewere even prosecuted started or arrests, some were dismissed or forced to resign.

VI. CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS
Criminal proceedings consist of the activities of the criminal investigative bodies and the courts,in
which parties in criminal cases and other individuals participate and that are conducted in line with theprovisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. Criminal procedure of the Republic of M oldova admits thefollowing objective data in evidence:expertʼ
s reports;material evidence;transcripts of the criminal
investigation or of judicial inquiry;documents (written,audio,video);audio and video recordings andpictures; technical, scientific, medical and forensic reports; procedural documents that record theresults of following special investigative measures:audio and video recording;supervising the home byusing technical means providing registration;the interception and recording and images; retention,
research,teaching,or lifting searching mail,monitoring telegraph connections and electronic communications;monitor and control financial transactions and access to financial information;documentationof methods and technical means and locating or tracking by global positioning system (GPS) or byother technical means; collection of information by electronic communication service providers;
identifying the subscriber,the owner or user ofan electronic communication system or a point ofaccessto a computer system; visual tracking; control the transmission of money or other tangible assets
extorted;undercover investigation;cross-border supervision;controlled delivery;collecting samples forcomparative research; examination of objects and documents; acquisition of control; questioning;collecting information about people and events;identifying of persons.
The procedure of acquiring of evidence is strictly regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code, andit can be performed only in written form (by means of orders and transcripts of the criminal investigation or of judicial inquiry)and is strictly related to the gravity of the investigated crime and rights andfreedoms of the participants of the proceedings.
Collection of evidence that intrudes on the privacy of a person or his or her domicile, the privacyof correspondence, telephone or electronic conversations, telegraphic or other communications, state,
trade or banking secrets and other actions provided by law,should be authorized by the investigative
judge. Other evidence should be collected by the order of the prosecutor or criminal investigative
officer.

5Published 03 Feb. 2012 in Official Monitor of the Republic of Moldova Nr. 2528.

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The major problem that Moldavian investigative bodies have to face is the requirement of completing wiretapping or other means within a period of48 hours.After the expiryofthis term,the prosecutor
must bring charges against the suspect. This situation exists from October 2012, due to the gap oflegislation performed by the Parliament,and it has remained unrepaired till now.This gap of legislation put the investigative bodies specialized in combating crimes of corruption into an impossible
position to collect the most important evidence necessaryfor solving the crimes,identifying ofall crime
participants, bringing charges and conviction of the defendants.
A. Acquiring Suspect Statements
According to the criminal legislation of the Republic of Moldova the suspect is a person whom
certain available evidence indicates committed a crime prior to charges being brought.If according to
law the suspect has immunity from criminal liability, criminal investigative body addresses to therelevant authority notifications related to the withdrawal of personsʼimmunity and the initiation of acriminal investigation against him.Law affords immunityfrom criminal liabilityto the President ofthecountry, deputies, judges and members of foreign diplomatic mission and members of their families.
After his/her designation as a suspect, the suspect shall be interrogated only in the presence of adefence counsel or an attorney providing the legal assistance.The suspect has right to refuse or makestatements on the incriminating suspicion.The investigative body must explain to suspect that refusing
to make statements cannot be interpreted against him/her and warn that statements made by suspect
may be used as evidence against him.Statements of the suspect can be obtained also under the resultsof special investigative measures as electronic surveillance,wiretapping,installation ofappliances thatmonitor and record audio and video, retention, research, teaching, or lifting on searching mail,monitoring telegraph connections and electronic communications or undercover operations.
Criminal legislation of the Republic of Moldova introduced the institution of plea bargaining in
2003. In the case of plea bargaining,punishment provided in the criminal law is reduced by one third.
The Republic of M oldova during the last ten years has harmonized its legislation in accordance with
the international standards regarding the institution of suspects. The main problems related to thesuspect are the poor conditions in prisons, abuses of police officers and prison guards.
B. Acquiring Witnesses Statements
The testimony of a witness is oral or written made during criminal proceeding regarding any
circumstances to be determined in the case of including information about the suspect/accused/
defendant, injured party and his/her relationship with them. The person conducting the procedural
action explains to the witness his/her rights and obligations and warns him/her about his/her liability
for refusing to testify or for deliberately making false testimony.
Art.312 and 313 of Criminal Code establish punishes for false statements by a fine of up to 6,000 Lei
or by community service for 180 to 240 hours or by imprisonment for up to 2 years and for the refusal
or evasion of a witness or of an injured party to make statements, that is punished by a fine of up to
6,000 Lei.
The Criminal Procedure Code and law on state protection of victims,witnesses and other persons
assisting in criminal proceedings provides as measures of protection of witnesses hearing by special
technical means that assure the distortion of the voice;hiding or changing of identity, changing ofresidence or place of work or study,changing of appearance,installing a home alarm system,changing
the phone number and the protection of property.
Current issues regarding the institution of witnesses are the lack of trust of witnesses in law
enforcement authorities concerning the ability to protect them for their testimony made against
defendants.Another problem is the mild punishment for perjury and obstruction of justice,because theprejudices caused by these crimes are more serious then the punishment.

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VII. IDENTIFICATION, TRACING, FREEZING, AND CONFISCATION OF
PROCEEDS AND RETURN AND DISPOSAL OF CONFISCATED ASSETS
Criminal investigative bodies of the Republic of Moldova dispose of sufficient resources for identification,tracing,freezing,confiscation of proceeds and return and disposal of confiscated assets.For themost expensive goods there are electronic registers opened for criminal investigative bodies. Law
provides that a criminal investigative body ex officio or the court at the request of the parties may
undertake during a criminal proceeding measures for securing the recovery of damages caused by thecrime and for guaranteeing the execution of a punishment by fine.M easures for securing the recoveryof damages consist of sequestering movable and real property. The current issues regarding thesemeasures are related to tracing and confiscation of proceeds of crime from bank accounts of theoff-shore companies and recovery of assets from dummy owners.

VIII. PREVENTIVE M EASURES
M oldovan legislative framework in the field of anti-corruption has been considerably extended andimportant laws have been adopted, e.g.:Law from 22.02.2008 on Conflict of Interests,Law from 22.02.
2008 on the Code of Conduct of the Public Servant, Law from 25.04.2008 on Prevention and Fight
Against Corruption,Law from 13.11.2008 on Transparency in the Decision Making Process,Law from
18.12.2008 on Verification of Holders and Candidates to Public Functions, etc. Although these laws
were much anticipated,they showed no effect in the first years after adoption,mainly due to the lackof a clear application mechanisms.Taking into account existence of certain old ineffective regulations,
it is necessary to elaborate and adopt the mechanisms of anti-corruption legislation which would be
effective in the following fields:income and property declaration,control over their origin;declarationof conflict of interests, transparency in the decision making process, gifts, etc.
Also the Republic of Moldova and its international partners provide active financing of anticorruption campaigns (by television, internet, radio, trainings and seminars, etc.). The most known
national anti-corruption campaigns for the last two years were “
You can stop Corruption”,“
Transparent property”,“
Corruption and cancer ― social diseases”,“
Corruption kills education”,“
I do not give ortake bribes”, etc.

IX. EXTRADITION AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONThe Constitution of the Republic of Moldova provides that no citizen of the Republic of Moldova
can be extradited or expelled from his/her country.Foreign or stateless citizens maybe extradited onlyin compliance with an international agreement or under conditions of reciprocity in consequence of adecision of a court of law.In no case shall Republic of M oldova extradite a person who is accused forhis political views or for actions that do not constitute a crime in the Republic of Moldova.According
to the Constitution, the legal provisions on human rights and freedoms are interpreted and applied inaccordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the pacts and other treaties, towhich the Republic of Moldova is a party.
Republic of M oldova has adhered to the UN Convention against Corruption, the Criminal Law
Convention against Corruption, the Civil Law Convention against Corruption, the Council of Europe
Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime, Directive
2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention of the use of the financial
system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing, and other international treaties.
M utual legal assistance,extradition and information exchange between law enforcement authorities of
the Republic of M oldova and other states are performed by the Division of International Cooperationof the General Prosecutors Office of the Republic of Moldova.

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X. THE CURRENT SITUATIONS AND PROBLEMS OF UTILIZING THE PRIVATESECTOR AND OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATESECTORS IN PREVENTING AND COMBATING CORRUPTION;
MEASURES ADDRESSING COOPERATION STIPULATED IN UNCAC
ARTICLES 12, 13 AND 39
The legal framework of the Republic of Moldova contains a sufficient number of regulations
designed to safeguard the integrity of relevant private entities, including codes of conduct for thecorrect,honorable and proper performance of the activities of business and all relevant professions andthe prevention of conflicts of interest, and for the promotion of the use of good commercial practices
among businesses and in the contractual relations of businesses with the State.
Law provides compulsory regulations related to transparency among private entities, procedures
regarding subsidies and licenses granted by public authorities for commercial activities, imposes
restrictions of former public officials or on the employment of public officials by the private sector
after their resignation or retirement.
The tax system also is well regulated and contains sufficient regulations in preventing and detecting
acts of corruption regarding the obligatory maintenance of books and records, financial statement
disclosures and accounting and auditing standards. The Criminal Code punishes such doings asrecording of non-existent expenditures, use of false documents;and intentional destruction of bookkeeping documents earlier than foreseen by the law.

XI. CONCLUSION
The politics on cooperation between the public and private sectors in preventing and combating
corruption are provided by the National Anti-Corruption Strategy6 (2011-2015). According to thisdocument the Republic of M oldova promotes the active participation of individuals and groups outside
the public sector, such as civil society,non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, in the prevention of and the fight against corruption and to raise public awareness regarding
the existence, causes and gravity of and the threat posed by corruption. The strategy promotes
enhancing the transparency of and promoting the contribution of the public to decision-making
processes;ensuring that the public has effective access to information,undertaking public information
activities that contribute to non-tolerance of corruption, as well as public education programmes,
respecting,promoting and protecting the freedom to seek,receive,publish and disseminate information
concerning corruption.
Despite these policies and legal framework, the cooperation between public and private sectors inpreventing and combating corruption do not bring the expected results. In the Republic of M oldova,
corruption is treated as a form of business,the branches of power are controlled by groups of interests,
there is no transparency in recruitment of the heads of public authorities, and usually these areappointed due to the common business relationships, are in kinship or have other common interests.
Consequently,these groups of interests force the representatives of private sector,to give bribes inorder to survive, because due to economic competition the fulfillment of tax obligations will increase
the price for their goods and services.Consequently government revenue decreases and,hence,the state
is not able to pay for the work of the public employees at a suitable level. In such a way majority ofactive work population have insufficient incomes and are forced for seeking a job abroad.
Taking into consideration the issues mentioned above,following the goal of improving the situationin the field of preventing and combating corruption,the following solutions are proposed:Strengthening the capacity of the National Integrity Commission (liquidation gaps in legal, digitization andprocessing of its electronic information, detailed verification of the candidates for public office,6National AntiCorruption Strategy 2011-2015 approved by the Decision nr. 154 from 21 Jul. 2011 of Parliament of

Republic of M oldova published in Official M onitor nr.166-169/483 from 07 Oct. 2011250

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ensuring that information is exchanged with counterpart institutions in other countries,empower withthe right to start trials for extended confiscation);Strengthening the capacity of the National Anticorruption Center for fighting against high-ranking officials;introduction of criminal liability for making
decisions in situations of conflict of interest; improving the legal framework and establishing aneffective control system of financing political parties and election campaigns;de-monopolization of themedia and facilitating of the access to public television for new political forces;the introduction ofcollective responsibility for members of governmental commissions empowered to spend publicfinances;and increasing collaboration with civil societyin order to development ofintolerance towards
corruption.

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