Amongst deputy ministers promoted in the Strelet Government there are rich and poor, with thriving and less active businesses, with clean or less clean records. Even if the new public office is incompatible with any other paid post some new deputies continue to administer businesses, some of them in the very field where they have been promoted. Reporters of the Center for Investigative Journalism have X-rayed the declarations of assets and interests of the second level officials of ministries, have checked them through various open databases and we propose below for your attention what assets  and interests these Strelet Government deputy ministers have.

Ministry of Finance

At the Ministry of Finance the deputies have remained the same: Simion Botnari and Maria Caraus.

Simion Botnari –member in three Management Boards

He joined the public service coming from the private sector. Since 2010 he has worked in the Public Procurement Agency and in the past two years was the head of this institution. Doesn’t have any companies registered in his name. According to the latest income and assets statement, in 2012, together with his wife, Botnari has purchased an apartment with a value of 414 000 lei. Officially, he is member of the management board of three state-owned companies: "Road-Nisporeni" JSC, "Road-Edinet" JSC and "Silva-Center".

Maria Caraus

Deputy Minister of Finance since 2010. She was previously head of the General Directorate of Finance for the Chisinau Municipal Council and she also worked in the Ministry of Finance. In 2013 income and assets statement she indicated a salary of 162,000 lei and a pension of 61,000 lei. She is the state representative in four companies with state capital: Agricultural Information Centre, Energy Shield, Medisan and Moldexpo. From these enterprises in 2013 she received emoluments totaling about 96 thousand lei. Deputy Minister of Finance has an apartment with a cadastral value of about 367 thousand lei and a garage.

Ministry of Culture

The Minister of Culture has also reappointed the old deputies, Gheorghe Postica and Igor Sarov.

Gheorghe Postica - concealed abuses committed by the former minister, Boris Focsa

He has been Deputy Minister of Culture since 2009. According to the statement of income and assets for 2013, the official received a salary of 130 thousand lei. He declared an apartment of 60 square meters, valued at 336,000 lei, and a villa. Postica also owns a plot of land and a car, for which he paid 4,600 euros in 2007. Gheorghe Postica was subject in an investigation by the Center for Investigative Journalism in connection with the case of the former chief accountant of the Ministry of Culture that would have concealed information about abuses committed at those times by her boss Boris Focsa. He was notified by the accountant of the Ministry about a number of serious abuses she had commited together with Minister Boris Focsa but failed to notify the relevant institutions to investigate those transgressions nor ordered an internal investigation, although according to his duty obligations he was obliged to do so.

Igor Sarov – “fat” contracts with the state

He has been in this position since September 2013. He filled in twice his declaration of income and assets. Initially, when appointed, he stated that he has no property, and later one apartment appeared in his ownership, then another one. This, when in July 2014, the National Integrity Commission started a check on the possible infringement of the legal regime of declaration of income and property for 2013 by Igor Sarov. The case was closed.

According to the statement of income and assets for 2013 Sarov had a plot of land, two apartments and two cars, one of which valuated at 320 thousand lei.

The Deputy Minister also has a business in his field of work. He is co-founder of Cardidact company specialized in publishing books and brochures, but also in manufacturing furniture. This company is currently operated by the wife of the Deputy Minister. The company, as shown by the Public Procurement Agency data, is lucky for state money - only last year obtaining contracts worth 2.1 million lei concluded with the Ministry of Education and its subordinate institutions.

Ministry of Information Technology and Communications

The old deputy ministers have been reappointed.

Dmitrii Parfentiev

Parfentiev was appointed deputy minister on 12 June 2013. He was previously Head of the department for communication policies, in the same ministry. According to his statement of income and assets in 2013, Parfentiev had an income of 120 thousand lei from his workplace and salaries of over 56 thousands lei from his state representation in Management Boards of companies with state capital: Posta Moldovei (Postal Service of Moldova), Registru (Country’s Center for Informational Resources), Radicomunications , and National Radio Frequency Center.

The Deputy Minister has half an apartment, purchased in 2011 with 513,000 lei, a car and some bank accounts.

Vitali Ciolac

He comes from the private sector. In his declaration of income and assets for 2013 he reported his salary at the Ministry, as well as earnings from the private sector. He has a car purchased in 2012 with 50 thousand lei and owns 1% of shares in the “Gast-Grup” LLC.

Vitalie Tarlev – non-declared businesses

For more than seven years he has led the Department for international European integration and cooperation at the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications. In 2013, Tarlev reported a salary of 193 thousand lei, including his state representation in various state enterprises. He owns a car, but no home.

Data from the State Registration Chamber indicate that Vitalie Tarlev was among the founders of the company – Bastrans-auto LLC - specializing in transport, tourism and construction.

Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family

Minister Mircea Buga has reappointed one deputy, Laura Grecu and appointed a new deputy, Boris Gilca. In terms of assets both deputies are quite modest.

Boris Gilca

Ex-prime state advisor of former prime-minister Chiril Gaburici in the field of health care and social development.

Obstetrician gynecologist, ex-director of the Women's Health Center "Dalila" in Chisinau. Since 2001 he has worked as Program Coordinator of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Moldova. He has not made public his income and assets statement.

Laura Grecu

She has worked in the ministry since 1999, in the last seven years as head of Social policy department. She has experience in negotiating international agreements in the field of labor and social protection. According to her statement of income, in 2013 she raised a salary of 123 thousand lei. She also has an apartment and a car purchased in 2005.

Ministry of Education

At the Ministry of Education all deputies have been replaced. The new deputies of Corina Fusu are Cristina Boaghi, Ion Siscanu and Nadejda Cristea. They are quite modest in terms of assets and businesses likewise their colleagues from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

Cristina Boaghi

She comes to the Ministry of Education from the position of lawyer, main consultant in the Legal Affairs Directorate, of the Moldovan Parliament Secretariat. A candidate on the Liberal Party lists in the parliamentary elections in 2010 and 2014. According to the income and assets statement, lives only from salary, has neither home of her own, no car.

Ion Siscanu

Ion Siscanu has a PhD in history, in the past he was the rector at the State University„B.P.Hașdeu” in Cahul. In 2011-2015 he worked as Cahul city and district council councilor on the Liberal Party lists.

Nadejda Cristea

She had previously run Pro Didactica magazine and had been director of the Pro Succes lyceum in Chisinau. In the declaration of assets for 2013 she indicated a salary of 84 thousand lei, no house, no car and no shares in any company.

Ministry of Justice

At the Ministry of Justice, deputy minister Nicolae Esanu was reappointed and Sergiu Gurduja was replaced with Eduard Serbenco.

Eduard Serbenco

He is a doctor in law and university lecturer, deputy dean at the Faculty of Law of the State University of Moldova. The new deputy previously worked as a lawyer at the Ministry of Justice of Quebec, Canada.

In the declaration of assets for 2014 the newly appointed deputy minister declares a plot of land for construction with cadastral value of 26,000 lei, an apartment of 32 square meters, the cadastral value of which is not indicated. The year 2011 was a prosperous one for Eduard Serbenco. Thus, he became the owner of two buildings of 53.8, respectively 40.4 square meters valued at 47 000 and 32000 lei, as well as a house of 239.1 square meters, the cadastral value of nearly half a million lei. The official has a few accounts and bank deposits, but does not own any cars or hold shares in private companies.

Nicolae Esanu

He held this position in 2004-2009, during the reign of the Communist Party. According to the 2014 income and assets statement, Esanu had a cumulative salary of nearly 170 thousand lei and an allowance from the Council of Europe of 63 thousand lei. He owns a 107.8 square meter apartment with a cadastral value of 622,000 lei, a car which he bought for 240 thousand lei and 20 shares in Tirex Petrol JV.