Ex-deputy minister of the interior Veaceslav Ceban on June 25 was arrested on influence peddling charges and was remanded in custody for 30 days. His relative Stanislav Caraman, who is investigated in the same case, is also held on remand. The two were arrested based on decisions taken by the Buiucani-based court of Chisinau municipality, IPN reports.

Anticorruption prosecutor Adriana Betisor after the hearing said all the requests of prosecutors were accepted. The former deputy minister was absent from the hearing. Veaceslav Ceban wrote an application, asking allowing his lawyer to represent him in court.

It was established that Stanislav Caraman, who worked in the Customs Service, asked and received €60,000 for exerting influence on prosecutors, through his relative Veaceslav Ceban, and make these drop a criminal case in which the culprit is accused of manufacturing and putting multiple bank cards into circulation.

The denouncer didn’t have such a sum and tried to sell the apartment. The customs officer reportedly found a buyer, but the apartment could not be sold because it was registered in the name of a third person. To convince the denouncer that he can solve the problem through his relative, the customs officer presented fragments of the discussion with this through Viber. It was later agreed that the money will be transmitted in two installments, of €45,000 and €15,000.

If the two are found guilty, they will serve up to seven years in jail.