Eight people detained following searches in case concerning dispossession of Durlești local public administration

Eight people have been detained for 72 hours during searches carried out by anti-corruption officers in the case concerning the dispossession of the Durlești local public administration. The estimated damage is over 15 million lei.

According to the National Anticorruption Center (CNA), law enforcement bodies are conducting procedural actions today in a criminal case initiated on fraud-related offenses, concerning the dispossession of the Durlești local public administration of several plots of land located within the built-up area of the locality.

The case targets the mayor and deputy mayor of the locality, cadastral engineers, the deputy head of the Chișinău Territorial Cadastral Service, local councilors, as well as final beneficiaries of the land alienation schemes.

"The suspects are believed to have set up a complex scheme through which they dispossessed Durlești city hall of intravilan land plots. They allegedly forged cadastral extracts and ownership titles in the absence of supporting documents, thereby facilitating the illegal allocation of land. Subsequently, the plots were allegedly purchased at a symbolic price of 100,000 lei and then resold to real beneficiaries for amounts ranging between 38,000 and 39,000 euros. The final buyers were often real estate developers interested in consolidating land for construction projects," the CNA stated.

At present, searches are being conducted at more than 50 locations in the municipality of Chișinău and its suburbs. So far, eight people have been detained for 72 hours in order to establish all the circumstances of the case, identify all persons involved, and bring them to criminal liability. The criminal investigation is ongoing.