Ex-General Prosecutor Alexandr Stoianoglo Acquitted in Case of Abuse of Power

Former Moldovan Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo was acquitted in a case of abuse of power. The decision was made at a hearing on 28 February at the Buiucani district court in the capital. No offence was found in the actions of the Prosecutor General. After the hearing Stoianoglo made a statement to the press. The former prosecutor general claims that no evidence of his guilt was presented. “The decision was obvious from the very beginning of the criminal case. Initially, there was no corpus delicti in my actions. Everyone knows that my actions did not harm the state, all the money was returned earlier,” Stoianoglo said. He believes that the case against him “was rigged and politically motivated” in order to dismiss him. In the abuse of power case, prosecutors requested 8 years in prison for Stoianoglo and 6 years in prison for his former subordinate Maria Kobzari. They were accused of illegally granting an allowance of 270,000 lei to the former head of the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Causes (PCCOCS), Nicolae Chitoroaga, when he resigned. Stoianoglo was dismissed as head of the Prosecutor General’s Office on 5 October 2021. He was charged with at least five counts: abuse of office, passive corruption, false statements in declarations, abuse of power and abuse of authority. Stojanoglo has repeatedly denied the charges against him. He considers his prosecution to be politically motivated.