Leadership of Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office presented last year's activity report

The head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Veronica Dragalin, presented today the institution's activity report for 2024 and the priorities for this year. She said she sees no justification for the merger process of specialized prosecutors' offices.

In the last two years, 40 high-level public officials have been sent to court, including SIS directors, prosecutors and judges. In 2021, there were seven officials, and in 2020 – only two.


“The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office continues to work on high-profile cases, sending the message that no one is above the law. Any high-ranking individual will be held accountable if they break the law,” Dragalin said.


She reiterated that the merger of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office with the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) “has no rational justification and no expert recommended this.”


“It is a totally incorrect direction – from my point of view and as a professional opinion of a prosecutor. There is no basis for merging these prosecutorial offices,” Dragalin said.


Dragalin noted that she had not been invited to Parliament for hearings and does not know the purpose of the changes announced yesterday by the Minister of Justice.

According to the report, which consists of 30 pages, last year saw a significant increase in the value of fines and confiscations ordered by judges in Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office cases, reaching 74,987,225 lei – a 600% increase compared to the previous year and surpassing the total amount recorded in the last four years. Notable convictions were also achieved last year in high-level corruption cases, including: the conviction of the former acting president of the Savings Bank to 10 years in prison; the final conviction of Ilan Shor to 15 years in prison in the Bank Fraud case; the conviction of a former Deputy Prime Minister and a former Deputy Speaker.

The e-Platform for collecting data on high-level corruption was completed, and a joint investigation team was formed with the French authorities to investigate a corruption scheme related to INTERPOL.