Judge Natalia Russu partially upheld the claim filed by Ion Caracuian, former head of the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), in a lawsuit seeking moral damages from former Romanian MP Cristian Rizea. Rizea, currently serving time in the Jilava penitentiary, has been ordered to pay 20,000 lei for spreading defamatory information. Extradited by Moldovan authorities, Rizea made many enemies during his six years of refuge in Chișinău. Several other defamation cases involving him are still pending in the lower courts. He made multiple slanderous statements about reporters from the Center for Investigative Journalism (CIJM), who exposed the lavish lifestyle he enjoyed in Chișinău, despite having been criminally convicted for corruption by Romanian courts.

In October 2021, Caracuian resigned as head of the PCCOCS. He stated that he had personally submitted the resignation for personal reasons.

However, both his resignation and appointment remain surrounded by questions.

In September 2020, Ion Caracuian won the competition for the position without facing any competitors. Then-Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo encouraged the members of the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP) to support Caracuian.

The deliberations regarding Caracuian’s appointment took only a few minutes. He was the only state prosecutor to enter the competition for the PCCOCS leadership post, and his file was approved by the Board for the Selection and Career of Prosecutors.

The former Prosecutor General later commented on Caracuian’s departure, stating that “true prosecutors” were leaving the system.