Stamate: “So far, None of the Politicians, Judges and Prosecutors Have Done Time for Corruption”

Olesea Stamate, Chair of the Committee for Legal Affairs, Immunities and Appointments, recognizes that the lack of harsh penalties in cases of high corruption involving officials affects citizens’ trust in the government’s actions. The PAS representative claims that the lack of apparent progress in high profile cases discourages citizens. “That’s true, and since none of the politicians, judges, prosecutors have ever been in jail for corruption offences, basically for corruption, which we judge a little bit more broadly, not just illegal financing and voter corruption. People say, “What’s to be afraid of? Has anybody been to jail?” Not at all. And I hope that the institutions that are handling these cases will mobilize and make every effort to complete the investigative part as soon as possible,” Stamate told voceabasarabiei.md. The Chair of the Committee for Legal Affairs, Immunities and Appointments was perplexed by the fact that the case of illegal financing of the Gagauz bashkan’s election campaign, during which numerous searches and detentions were carried out, has not yet been before the judges. “As far as I know, this case has not yet been before the judges. Now we are also waiting for the case, if it is about the elections in ATU Gagauzia, to be sent as soon as possible to the court, and then... The prosecutor’s office, which is in charge of the case, has to answer, but I would like this case to be before the judges as soon as possible, because the judicial proceedings will not be completed in 3 months. We all realize that, but at least the inquiry committee should send the case to the court. Therefore, the activities to investigate and uncover illegal funding and voter corruption are somehow underway. During the campaigning for the local elections, we have also seen particular actions, they don’t cover the whole spectrum, obviously, and they can’t do it. How many investigators do we have, how many prosecuting officers do we have, how many localities do we have? 900 or so. So, you understand that we don’t even have enough investigators,” Olesea Stamate noted. The MP added that even if quick results are desirable, “these cases should be processed, first of all, as correctly as possible, according to the letter and spirit of the law and brought to court so that the guilty are punished, but in any case, it takes time”.