Lawyer caught red-handed in €57,000 bribery scandal
A lawyer was arrested red-handed in Chișinău while receiving a bribe to "influence" judges into issuing favorable decisions in two cases.
According to the National Anticorruption Center (CNA), the lawyer allegedly demanded a total bribe of 57,000 euros.
The lawyer was detained shortly after receiving 7,000 euros from an individual, claiming he could influence public officials to get them to close a criminal case in which his client was under investigation for serious offenses.
Authorities found the money in his Land Rover Discovery.
He had also allegedly demanded and previously received 50,000 euros in multiple installments from the same person, claiming he could influence judges to issue a favorable ruling in a civil case.
Specifically, the money was reportedly offered so the lawyer would get the judges to overturn a decision issued by a lower court, which had ordered a company to repay a debt of nearly three million lei to another firm.
The lawyer is facing criminal charges for influence peddling and receiving bribes of a particularly large amount.
The CNA and the Bălți Municipal Prosecutor's Office announced they are taking steps to identify all individuals involved in this case.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
