The former member of the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP) Olesea Vîrlan risks being punished for abuse of power. The head of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (APO) Veronica Dragalin made an order refusing to start a criminal procedure and dropping the criminal investigation on the grounds that the deed does not include elements of the crime. However, it is the contravention of abuse of power and an administrative proceeding was instituted against the former CSP member in this regard on April 10, IPN reports.

The criminal procedure was initiated on March 1. “The evidence gathered during the criminal investigation raises a reasonable suspicion that, when awarding an arbitrary, unobjective and nonmeritocratic score of 3.5 to candidate Ion Munteanu, Olesea Vîrlan acted in the interests of a third person, this being Andrei Roșca, who was interested in taking revenge on Ion Munteanu because the latter didn’t offer him the vacant position of deputy prosecutor general. If Andrei Roșca had left the prosecution system from the position of deputy prosecutor general, he would have obtained by over 200,000 lei more in allowance and unused leave than from the post of prosecutor of the Prosecutor General’s Office, which he vacated on February 28, 2024 based on his resignation,” reads a press release issued by the APO.

The contravention of abuse of power is punishable by a fine of 1,500 to 4,500 lei and ban on holding a particular position or carrying out a particular activity for a period of three months to one year.

Olesea Vîrlan, a detached prosecutor, was elected SCP member at the General Assembly of Prosecutors on December 23, 2023. After the SCP canceled the contest to choose the head of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Olesea Vîrlan tendered her resignation.