Moldova’s Ion Creangă accused of espionage, under house arrest
The suspended chief of the Legal Directorate of Moldova’s Parliament, Ion Creangă, suspected of high treason, has been placed under house arrest for 30 days.
The decision was made on February 24. The information was confirmed to Teleradio-Moldova by Creangă’s lawyer, Gheorghe Ionaș.
According to Ionaș, the request for house arrest was granted due to factors such as Creangă’s advanced age and the stage of the ongoing investigation.
“House arrest was applied starting from February 24. The court considered Creangă’s advanced age, the stage of the criminal proceedings, and the absence of risks that he might interfere with the legal process when deciding on the preventive measure,” said Gheorghe Ionaș.
The suspended chief of Parliament’s legal service, Ion Creangă, was detained in July 2024 on suspicion of covert communication with a former employee of the Russian Embassy in Chișinău. He is accused of passing on classified information regarding national defense, Moldova’s cooperation with international security partners, and other sensitive topics.
According to the PCCOCS (Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases), Creangă was allegedly caught red-handed receiving $500 from an embassy representative. During a search of his residence, authorities found another $1,100.
In the same case, a suspended Border Police officer is also under investigation, suspected of having had repeated covert meetings with the same Russian diplomat. His wife is also being investigated for allegedly facilitating communication between the officer and the embassy employee.
Creangă maintains his innocence and refuses to make public statements.
If found guilty, he faces a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
