Official: The reorganization of specialized prosecutors' offices continues after the resignation of Veronika Dragalin
The reorganization of specialized prosecutors' offices will continue, said Justice Minister Veronica Mihailov-Moraru, after Veronica Dragalin announced her intention to resign from the position of head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (PA).
“The Government and Parliament will continue all necessary efforts to make the specialized prosecutors’ offices more efficient,” said Mihailov-Moraru.
The Minister of Justice rejected accusations that the legislative initiative would weaken the fight against corruption. “The Government, if we are talking institutionally about the Ministry of Justice, has always been open to all proposals to amend the legislation and has cooperated through the anti-corruption platform, where several actors from law enforcement and legal institutions participated. There were certainly differences, but we do not consider certain accusations to be well-founded because the Ministry of Justice has made all necessary efforts to make the specialized prosecutors’ offices more efficient and, last but not least, to improve the legislation.”
Regarding the appointment of an interim head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the Minister stated that “it is premature for now, because this issue is to be discussed within the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP).”
Veronica Dragalin's resignation was published on a Telegram channel. She requested resignation starting March 21. If she does not withdraw her request by then, the Prosecutor General will submit to the CSP the candidacy of an interim chief prosecutor, explained the head of the CSP's Protocol, International and Public Relations Service, Eugen Roșca.
Meanwhile, the draft law on the creation of the new structure—the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime (PACCO)—is in public consultations and is to be submitted to a vote by Parliament. The timing of the law's approval will determine whether a new competition will be organized for the position of chief prosecutor of the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office or for the leadership of the future PACCO.
Veronica Dragalin's announcement comes amid intense debates generated by the initiative to merge the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office with the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases. The PA criticized the draft law, claiming that it represents "an attack on the justice system" and warned that "the liquidation of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office will have serious and dangerous implications for the rule of law in the Republic of Moldova and for the European path enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova."
