Moldovan interior minister says authorities do not rule out that Alexandru Pinzari might leave country through Transnistrian region

The authorities have not yet received an official response from Interpol regarding the location of the former head of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP), Alexandru Pinzari, and the former head of Directorate 5 of the National Investigation Inspectorate (INI), Valeriu Cojocaru, both convicted in the case of fictitious employment at the Interior Ministry (MAI). Interior Minister Daniella Misail-Nichitin today made statements to this effect. She does not rule out that Alexandru Pinzari might leave Moldova through the Transnistrian region.

The official emphasized that the authorities initiated the procedure for international search after a person is convicted, when that person was absent from the court hearing, is not at their place of residence, or cannot be identified.

“This has also been done in the case of the two convicted individuals. Measures were taken regarding Mr. Pinzari to ensure that, if he attempts to leave the country, there are mechanisms for identification and detention through Interpol structures. Also, as long as Alexandru Pinzari has not been located at his official residence, we do not exclude the possibility that he may leave the territory of Moldova through the Transnistrian region. Precisely for this reason, the request for an international search was submitted. In the case of Mr. Cojocaru, he is outside Moldova – in Hungary. So far, we have not received an official response from Interpol regarding the location of the two. The police continue to take all necessary measures to identify these individuals,” stated Daniella Misail-Nichitin.

The minister noted that, according to procedure, “after the requests are transmitted through the Directorate for International Police Cooperation, the official response from Interpol is awaited regarding the person’s whereabouts, the measures undertaken to identify them, and, where applicable, the organization of extradition procedures.”

On January 23, this year, the IGP sent Interpol a request to issue an international search notice for Alexandru Pinzari and Valeriu Cojocaru, after the former head of the IGP, the former head of Directorate No. 5 of the INI, and the president of the Fighting & Entertainment Association of Moldova (FEA), Dorin Damir, had been  sentenced at the beginning of last week to three years in prison each, to be served in a semi-closed penitentiary, in the case of fictitious employment at the MAI.

The judges delivered the decision in the absence of the three defendants. Dorin Damir was detained shortly after the sentence was pronounced. He is also under investigation in other criminal cases involving money laundering, tax evasion and extortion.