The former head of the state-owned enterprise Moldovan Railways (CFM) Iurie Topală will appear before judges in another criminal case. According to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases, the former CFM director fraudulently rented locomotives from the left bank of the Nistru, causing damages of over 5 million lei, IPN reports.

Prosecutors said the defendant exceeded his authority by concluding an additional agreement for the rental of locomotives from a company based in the Transnistrian region outside the procurement plan. As a result, the payments for these services, covered by CFM, amounted to over 5 million lei.

The Moldovan Railways filed a civil lawsuit to recover the damages.

The case will be tried by the Buiucani Court of Chisinau City. The former CFM director faces a fine of up to 57,500 lei or up to three years’ imprisonment.

In the criminal case that was sent to court following the extradition of Iurie Topală from Belgium, with damages of over 400 million lei, including as a result of favoring two companies providing transport services, assets of approximately €1 million were seized.