20 candidates applied for the seat of Prosecutor General, initiated by the Ministry of Justice in late September. Among those who compete for the seat of general prosecutor are lawyers, jurists, prosecutors. Anticoruptie.md portal reveals the profile of candidates and their property.

UPDATE: 4 of the 20 candidates competing for the seat of general prosecutor were not admitted to the contest. The Ministry of Justice announced that, following the evaluation of the files submitted, the Commission for the pre-selection of candidates to the office of general prosecutor admitted 16 candidates. Thus, the lawyer Ilie Rotaru, former prosecutor Ion Vicol, prosecutor of the Chisinau Court of Appeals Artur Lupaşco, and the prosecutor of Balti Octavian Bodareu were removed from the contest. The Ministry of Justice did not announce the reasons for removing the 4 candidates from the contest.

Anatolie Istrate is currently a lawyer. He defended the interests of the activist of the DA platform Gheorghe Petic and of the chairman of “Our Party” Renato Usatii. Late in July, he was among the candidates for the position of acting general prosecutor.

The name of Anatolie Istrate appears in a RISE Moldova investigation about a case of trafficking in minors with disabilities from Germany to Moldova.

Ilie Rotaru is a lawyer, he is Doctor of Law. Previously, he was a candidate for several public functions, including for the President of the Republic of Moldova. Lawyer Ilie Rotaru was sentenced to nine years with execution for the scam and was put on want list by the policemen in Moldova. He was in Romania for a while, where he returned after the Democratic Party resigned from power in June 2019. Rotaru does not plead guilty and argues that the case was fabricated by order of Vladimir Plahotniuc because he insisted on recovering his assets at the Gemenii Commercial Centre, assets that would have been seized in a raider attack by the Ukrainian President Poroshenko.

Ilie Rotaru said that he owned a 7% share of assets at Gemenii and he managed this company for a period. After that, he would have been revoked and stripped of shares. Rotaru also said he had lost in Moldovan courts all cases related to the recovery of assets from Gemenii and addressed to the ECHR. "While it agreed to examine my complaints, the Strasbourg court avoided a ruling for years on this case. I sent a complaint to the President of the Court, I was promised that they will make a decision, but the case stalled out", said the lawyer.

Ilie was sentenced on 26 June 2017 by the Chisinau Court together with 3 other alleged accomplices. The lawyer was found guilty of having dispossessed a Belgian businessman of a 360 square metre estate and a plot in Balti, valued at 40,000 euros. According to the sentence, in 2009, the Belgian citizen addressed advocate Rotaru for legal services, and the defender would have asked him to sign blank papers.

Thus, the lawyer made fictitious employment at the Belgian enterprise. Subsequently, Rotaru sued the foreign investor, citing salary debts of over 12,000 euros and won. The court accepted a conciliation transaction following which the Belgian citizen ceded the property from Balti in exchange for the debt.

Rotaru told us that he challenged the sentence in higher court, but the Chisinau Court of Appeal would delay the examination of the case. The lawyer also said that the law enforcement authorities in Moldova would have started several criminal files by order of Petro Poroshenko, Vladimir Voronin and Vladimir Plahotniuc. After the sentence given in this case, Rotaru was put on wanted list in the spring of 2017.

Alexandru Stoianoglo is a Gagauz attorney and politician, who held the position of Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova in 2009 – 2010 and 2010 – 2014, in the faction of the Democratic Party of Moldova (PDM). He was Vice-President of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova (2009 – 2010), and in his second term he served as deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on State Security, Defence and Public Order. In 2007 – 2009, he served as a lawyer at the private Lawyers’ office "Alexandr Stoianoglo" and he was a member of the Moldovan Lawyers ' Union. In 2011 – 2014, he was the head of the friendship group between the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the state Duma of the Russian Federation.

During 1992 – 1995, he was a trainee, assistant-prosecutor, district prosecutor, district chief prosecutor, prosecutor of the Department for Investigation Surveillance, senior prosecutor of the Department at the Chisinau prosecutor's office. In 1995 – 2001, he was the prosecutor of UTA Gagauzia, and during 2001 – 2007 he was general deputy-prosecutor of the Republic of Moldova.

In the parliamentary elections dated 30 November 2014, Stoianoglo was not included in the PDM lists. In January 2015, he quitted the Democratic Party in order to compete as independent candidate for the seat of Bashkan of Gagauzia. Stoianoglo was an independent candidate for the governor of UTA Gagauzia twice, in 2006 and in 2015, but every time he lost from the first round.

Maxim Gropa is a prosecutor in the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases since 1 August 2016. Prior to the reform of the prosecution, he was a prosecutor in the Department for Special Cases of the General Prosecutor's Office. Maxim Gropa is the godfather of the deputy general prosecutor, Mircea Roşioru.

Gropa got the media attention with the case against the criminal authority Vladimir Moscalciuc, alias Makena that was completed in 2012, with the sentencing of Moscalciuc and of 5 accomplices from his group. This case targeted 15 employees from the penitentiary system. Ana Ursachi, the lawyer of some people involved in the case, said that the prosecution of the 15 employees in the DIP was in fact a personal vengeance of the prosecutor Maxim Gropa that was not coordinated with the superior leadership of the General Prosecutor's Office.

In 2013, Maxim Gropa filed another criminal case against Moscalciuc and members of his group for blackmail and mistreatment of detainees. The case has been in the court for more than three years. Witnesses, most inmates, refuse to make statements in court on the grounds that prosecutors did not guarantee their protection.

According to the statement on property for 2018, prosecutor Gropa, who has a monthly salary of 27.7 thousand Lei, seems to have a modest living. He reported the fourth part of an apartment of 70 square meters and a car Opel Zafira, 2005, purchased in 2010 against the sum of only 3000 lei.

Veaceslav Soltan is a prosecutor. In the autumn of 2010, he was appointed chief Prosecutor of the Department of IT and Cybercrime Investigations of the General Prosecutor's Office. Subsequently, after prosecution reforming, by order of the General prosecutor, he was appointed as prosecutor, acting Chief of Department of IT and Cybercrime Investigations of the General Prosecutor's Office. A year later, in July 2017, he was appointed head of the section for a five-year term.

Under the decision of the College of Prosecutors’Performance Assessment dated 28 April 2017, in the result of the extraordinary performance assessment, prosecutor Veaceslav Soltan got the score 88.1, "Very good" . The college for the selection and career of prosecutors, that evaluated him in July 2017, awarded him a final score of 144.6.

According to the statement on property for 2018, Soltan had revenues of 453 thousand lei from wages and allowances, travel expenses in the amount of 3,735 euros and another 10 thousand lei from the sale of a car. The prosecutor owns a plot of nine acres donated to him, an apartment of 70.6 square meters, bought in 2012, against the sum 340 thousand lei, as well as a Toyota car purchased in 2018 against the sum of 100 thousand lei.

Eduard Bulat is the deputy general prosecutor. He previously held the position of chief prosecutor of the Division of policies, reforms and project management within the Department of policies, reforms and the protection of the company's interests of the General Prosecutor's Office. He has been working in the prosecution since 1994.

Bulat's name appears in an article published on the Moldova Curata portal, revealing that the prosecutor annually invests hundreds of thousands of lei in the construction of an apartment, and the sums exceed his official revenues. It is about an apartment in a block located on Melestiu Str. in Chisinau, where several prosecutors received housing at half price. Bulat reported in his statement on income and property, that he had paid, starting with 2011, hundreds of thousands of lei to the company that was building a block of flats. Thus, in June 2011, he paid 155,288 lei, in December 2011 – 109,542 lei, in June 2012 – 140,980 lei and in November 2014 – 351,588 lei. He paid these sums while he reported an annual salary of 130,519 lei for 2014 in the statement. He explained that he was paying his apartment from a loan offered to him without any interest by his sister who settled abroad.

Eduard Bulat is in the list of prosecutors who own one or more dwellings, but these were included in the list of beneficiaries of apartments at preferential price.

In the statement on property and personal interests for 2018, Bulat reports a monthly average salary of over 30 thousand lei. He reported two apartments and a garage, even though he says he does not own a car. Starting with 2012, he drives a Volvo XC90, 2009, based on ownership papers.

Ruslan Caşu is a prosecutor from 2004, after he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Humanistic Studies in Moldova. After having obtained his bachelor's degree, Ruslan Caşu activated at the prosecutor's office in Hânceşti district, then he was transferred to the Prosecutor of the Chisinau Court of Appeals level. He also worked in several departments within the General Prosecutor's Office: Directorate of Criminal Surveillance, the Criminal Directorate, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime. Subsequently, Caşu worked at the prosecutor's office based in Ciocana, Chisinau. In 2011, Ruslan Caşu was blamed for the improper fulfilment of the duties in a criminal case, after he did not challenge a judgment of the Chisinau Court of Appeals. The Disciplinary College came to the conclusion that he is not guilty. In 2012, another disciplinary proceeding was filed against Casu, because, in July 2011, at 3 a.m., while he was in cafe, he initiated a conflict in which police intervention was needed. The disciplinary College of the Superior Council of Prosecutors sanctioned Ruslan Caşu with "reprimand".

In 2015, Ruslan Caşu was filed another disciplinary proceeding, and finally was declared innocent after he had questioned a doctor in a hospital, at night, outside of working hours, ZdG wrote.

Ruslan Caşu was also a candidate for the Office of general prosecutor in 2016. Journalists from Moldova Curata portal wrote that Ruslan Caşu received from the Chisinau City Hall the sum of about 878 thousand lei, following a reconciliation agreement in a dispute related to distribution of an apartment. The prosecutor says the municipality owed him since 2009, when he won the trial at the Supreme Court of Justice.

Ruslan Popov is chief prosecutor of the Section for criminological analysis, endorsement and enactment within the Department for policies, reforms and protection of society interests of the General Prosecutor’s Office. He is Valeriu Gurbulea’s god father, former prosecutor general during the communist government, Ruslan Popov headed, from 2010 to January 2013, the section of criminal prosecution and methodical assistance of the General Prosecutor's Office. Subsequently, he was acting chief at the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, suspended for a short time from that position, after a criminal case was started against him for the fact that he had not reported for almost 7 years a luxury house in Milestii Mici.

A CIJM investigation from May 2015, carried out jointly with ZdG, reveals that the CNI (current National Integrity Authority, N.R.) took note after the press wrote about Popov's house, and in September 2013, through an act of finding, members of the Commission noted that the Prosecutor reported in the statement "inaccurate and incomplete data". Subsequently, his colleagues started a criminal case which, shortly, was closed, and Ruslan Popov was promoted. He was not allowed to run for the position of Chief of the Anti-corruption Prosecution because of the criminal case sued against him.

In October 2014, Popov was appointed deputy Chief of Prosecution Ciocana, and in 2016 – head of the institution. By 19 December 2017, he was a member of the Superior Council of Prosecutors for four years. In October 2017, he was appointed member of the Monitoring Group of the National Integrity Strategy for 2017 – 2020.

Another investigation carried out by CIJM in April 2014 reveals that Ruslan Popov signed in 2006 an investment agreement for a low-priced apartment with an area of 112 square meters. In that period, he has already a two-storey villa 13 kilometers away from Chisinau.

In July, the Anticoruptie.md portal wrote that prosecutor Popov submitted an application to the SCM to be evaluated by the Board for judges’ performance assessment and the Board for selection and career of judges in order to compete for the seat of magistrate.

In the statement of property for 2018, Ruslan Popov reported a residential house with a surface of 211.8 square meters, estimated at 111.7 thousand Lei, and an apartment of 122.8 meters estimated at 52.7 thousand euros. In 2017, he purchased two new cars Hyundai Santa Fe against the sum of 1 million 245.8 thousand lei. In 2018, Ruslan Popov bought a Toyota Corola car, 2006 for 10 thousand lei. In 2019, he owned 14 plots, which cost him 114 thousand 835 lei. Also, in 2019, Ruslan Popov got a million 50 thousand lei after he sold an apartment and two parking lots on Melestiu Str., purchased at a low price a few years ago.

Alexandru Raţa was elected head of the prosecutor’s office of Străşeni district in 2010, when he competed with two other persons. In 2014, the National Integrity Commission (CNI) started a control procedure against the district prosecutor, after it was notified by an investigation published in Ziarul de Garda. According to the investigation, the Prosecutor would not have reported a two-storey house in the statement on property for 2012. The investigation also revealed that the prosecutor's wife owns an expensive car, BMW X5. Alexandru Raţa said that his family does not own a car, his wife drives this car but she does not own it. 

On 22 May 2014, the CNI found that Alexandru Raţa violated the legal regime of the statement on Income and property and sent the document to the General Prosecutor's office. The CNI found that Alexandru Raţa did not report a plot, two constructions, two bank accounts, a loan from a commercial bank and the position of founder of a company granted to his wife.

In May 2016, Alexandru Raţa was re-elected for a period of 5 years following a public competition in which he was the only candidate.

In March 2019, the General Prosecutor's office requested Rata to quit the seat of head of the Straseni prosecutor's office, being charged of the poor management of several criminal cases, but also pecuniary interests linking him to certain cases.

Vsevolod Ivanov is a prosecutor in the Chisinau Prosecutor's office, Râşcani sector starting with December 2016. Previously, for six years he worked in the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, after, in July 2010, he was appointed interim prosecutor, Deputy Chief of the Anti-corruption section at the Anticorruption Prosecutor. Several disciplinary proceedings were started against Vsevolod Ivanov. In September 2013, Ivanov was investigated for violating the prosecutor's ethics code, as well as for violating the provisions relating to incompatibilities and prohibitions concerning prosecutors. According to the judgment of the Disciplinary Board of 22 November 2013, the disciplinary procedure concerning the Prosecutor was concluded on the ground that the disciplinary sanction was not applied. Subsequently, for committing several disciplinary misconduct in investigating a criminal case managed by the anti-corruption prosecution, Vsevolod Ivanov was punished disciplinary with "reprimand", on 14 February 2014. Following the disciplinary sanction applied, prosecutor Ivanov lost the seat of Deputy Prosecutor's office in the Anti-corruption Prosecution.

The press wrote, in this context, that in October 2013, the law enforcement started an investigation on a reasonable suspicion of committing offences of influence and passive corruption in large proportions targeting Ivanov. A citizen complained at the anti-corruption prosecutor's office that an employee of the National Anti-corruption Centre is asking him for money not to initiate investigations into "illegal" transfers of money. Although the applicant had evidence of a phone call recording targeting the CNA officer, prosecutor Vsevolod Ivanov would not have registered the citizen's complaint and had not examined the records of the phone call. Ivanov subsequently attempted to obtain 30 thousand euros, through an intermediary, from the CNA officer who had been "denounced" to the prosecutor's office in order not to start investigations based on the complaint filed against him.

Ivanov's name also appeared in an investigation carried out by Jurnal de Chisinau, which revealed that the prosecutor bought an apartment of 87 square meters at low price in the "Prosecutors ' building", though he owned three other apartments.

In the statement on property for 2018, Ivanov reported revenues of 238 thousand lei from salary, three plots, four apartments, valued at just over one million lei and a Honda CR V car, bought in 2016, with nine thousand euros.

Serghei Perju is a lawyer. He obtained the license of defender on 15 January 2018. Other data about this candidate is not available.

Tudor Andronic is a judge. From October 1995 to April 1996, he was a registrar at the Râşcani court, Chisinau municipality. Subsequently, for a year and a half, he was an intern in the court. In June 1998, he was appointed judge at the Ungheni court, a position he held until July 2003. In 2008-2014, he served as a lawyer. He returned to the Magistracy in March 2014, when he was appointed judge at the Străşeni court until the age limit is reached. 

By judgment of 3 June 2016, the Board for judges’ performance assessment granted the qualification "Good", Andronic was granted a score of 84 points.

In the statement on property for 2018, Tudor Andronic reported income from salary of 195 thousand lei. The judge owns five plots, with a total area of 2.7 hectares, but he does not own a house or a car.

Ion Vicol is a former prosecutor. According to an investigation in the newspaper Timpul, he was the only prosecutor who in April 2009 refused to complete the order of Vasile Pascari, the former First Deputy prosecutor, to record the detention of protestors and to ask the judges to condemn them in the commissariats. Subsequently, Vicol was "asked" to tender his resignation.

Artur Lupaşco is a prosecutor. In October 2010, he was appointed indictor in the prosecutor's office at the Chisinau Court of Appeal. In September 2017, he was appointed prosecutor in the Chisinau Prosecutor's office. In the Statement on property for 2018, the prosecutor received revenues amounted to 324 thousands lei last year. He owns an apartment of 120 square meters, bought in 2015, valued at 777 thousand lei, and an inherited residential house of 100 square meters. From 2012, Lupaşco owns a Mercedes, rated at only 5,000 lei (!).

Vladimir Adam is a prosecutor. In July 2013, he was appointed prosecutor, head of the Criminal Justice section of the General Prosecutor's Office. On 1 August 2016 he was appointed as Chief prosecutor of the Section of Unification of practice in terms of indictment in courts within the General Prosecutor's Office. 

He was awarded the Civic Merit Medal for long-term activity in prosecution, contribution to ensuring the legality and order of law and high professionalism, by decree of the President of the Republic of Moldova, on January 29, 2015. 

According to the judgment dated 7 December 2018, the Board for the selection and career of prosecutors approved a score of 144,5 points for the prosecutor Vladimir Adam.

In the statement on property and personal interests for 2018, Vladimir Adam reported revenues of 465 thousand lei and compensation for investigations and treatment in the amount of 44 thousand. The prosecutor reported a plot of 11 acres, valued at 593 thousand lei, a residential house of 113.7 square meters, purchased in 2000, with 593 thousand lei and two apartments, one of 50.9 square meters, valued at 310 thousand lei, and the other one with a surface of 86.4 square meters, bought in 2016, against the sum of 518 thousand lei. Adam drives a Mercedes car worth 180 thousand lei.

Gheorghe Malic is a former prosecutor. Previously, he has worked for the Interior Ministry and current activates in the law field. He served as Head of the Directorate-General for Prosecution of the General Police Inspectorate of MAI. In the past, he held several managerial positions in the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova. Subsequently, he was a lawyer at the bar of lawyers "Pro-Dreptate" in Chisinau, and in 2009 – 2013 he served as head of the Prosecution Department of MAI. As a defender, he handles resounding criminal cases targeting the former mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca, and former Democratic MP Iurie Bolboceanu.

Vladislav Gribincea has been president of the Legal Resources Centre in Moldova since 2010. He has activated in the non-governmental sector since 2002. His experience mainly relates the reform of the judiciary and the European Convention on Human Rights. The candidate was involved as an expert in drafting the justice sector reform strategy for 2011-2016, as well as in reforming Moldovan legislation in terms of judicial organization, civil procedure and criminal procedure. He headed the group of experts that drafted legislation on prosecution reform in the Republic of Moldova. He also participated in the drafting of the Law on freedom of expression and the law on the Government Agent.

Vladislav Gribincea is a lawyer, and since 2002, he represents the complainants before the European Court of Human Rights. In 2005, he graduated from the Chevening scholarship at the University of Nottingham, UK.

"I was accused of just giving advice. I want to confirm that the laws promoted are good and can give results if they are applied for real", Gribincea commented on the decision to run for the position of Prosecutor General.

Ştefan Gligor is licensed in public international law at ULIM and attended European interdisciplinary studies at the College of Europe in Poland. He owns a lawyer's license. Since January 2017, he is program director at CPR Moldova. He is a civic activist and expert in public policy. In an interview for TV8 channel, Ştefan Gligor said a general prosecutor would not do anything if he is not backed by the Parliament and the Ministries.

Oleg Crîşmaru is a senior criminal prosecution officer on emergency cases and works for the National Anti-Corruption Centre. He previously worked for the customs service, and in 2016, he was a prosecutor in the prosecutor's office in Basarabeasca district for 6 months.

According to the statement on property and personal interests for 2018, Crîşmaru received revenues of 361 thousand lei last year. He reported six plots of nearly two hectares, another plot of 17 acres, valued at 80,000 lei, as well as another plot of 6 acres worth 330,000 lei. Crîşmaru also reported an apartment of 54 square meters, valued at 300 thousand lei, as well as 2 residential houses, one of 150 square meters, purchased in 2011 with 650 thousand Lei, and another of 113.3 square meters, inherited in 2011. Also, the officer has two cars -a trailer and a car Kia Ceed, bought in 2017 with 140,000 lei.

Octavian Bodareu is a prosecutor in Balti Prosecutor's Office. Previously, he was appointed prosecutor in the Prosecutor's office at Balti Court of Appeal level and then he was suspended, between 2013 and 2015, in connection with the training course at Brandeis University, U.S. On 2 April 2015, he is reinstated as prosecutor in the Prosecutor’s office at Balti Court of Appeal level. On 21 November 2017, he was reinstated as prosecutor in Balti District prosecutor's office.

According to the statement on property and personal interest for 2018, the prosecutor received revenues of 222 thousand lei. He reported 4 agricultural plots with a total area of 4.7 hectares and other 4 intravillan plots with the total area of one hectare. The prosecutor owns an apartment of 58.6 square meters and a garage, a Honda CRV car, bought last year with 5,500 euros. Bodareu has 142 thousand lei and 7,500 dollars in bank deposits.