The chief architect of Chisinau municipality and the managers of a building company are investigated for abuse of office. According to the National Anticorruption Center, the persons allegedly set up a scheme to dispossess the municipality of a lot of land. Law enforcement officers raided their homes and offices on Thursday, IPN reports.

The lot to the value of about 22 million lei is situated in a residential district of the capital city and is 0.43 hectares in area. It was determined that decision makers of the building company, in complicity with representatives of the municipality, the Public Services Agency, the Cadastre Department, registered the right of superficies over the lot located close to the construction in the absence of a decision by the Chisinau Municipal Council and based on an expired lease contract. The request of the chief architect of Chisinau municipality served as a basis for registration. Subsequently, after obtaining the registered right, based on expired permissive documents, the economic agent registered a number of real estate objects on the given lot.

The city’s chief architect was classed as a suspect and will be investigated for abuse of office in noncustodial arrest.