The criminal proceedings against ex-prosecutor Adriana Bețișor, who was accused of passive corruption and abuse of power, were dropped by the decision of the Buiucani Court of Chisinau City. The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) said the state prosecutor is still accused of interference with the administration of justice, an accusation for which a trial is to follow, IPN reports.
According to PCCOCS, the acts of passive corruption and abuse of power were examined by the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office and in 2020 this refused to prosecute Adriana Bețișor. However, in March 2021, then-prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo annulled the refusal order and ordered that PCCOCS prosecutors conduct investigations. Meanwhile, the lawyer for the former prosecutor challenged the prosecutor general’s order, but the Ciocana Court of Chisinau City rejected the appeal.
One month later, in September 2021, PCCOCS prosecutors sent the file for examination to the Buiucani Court of Chisinau. However, in June 2022, when the case was in court, the Chisinau Court of Appeals quashed that court’s decision to reject the lawyer’s apple and sent the case back for retrial.
For its part, when re-examining the lawyer’s appeal against the orders of the prosecutor general, the Ciocana Court of Chisinau City in December 2022 annulled the orders to investigate the former prosecutor. PCCOCS prosecutors considered the court’s judgement was unfounded and challenged it, including because the duty to examine the appeal belonged to the Buiucani Court of Chisinau City, which tried the case on the merits.
Following the examination of the prosecutor’s appeal, the Balti Court of Appeals rejected it in August 2023, the conclusion being irrevocable and non-challengeable.
PCCOCS noted that Adriana Bețișor is also accused of interference with the administration of justice. This case is to be tried by another panel of judges of the Buiucani Court of Chisinau.
Adriana Bețișor as a prosecutor handled several high-profile cases, such as the “bank fraud” case and the criminal case in which former Prime Minister Vlad Filat was sentenced to nine years in prison following a denunciation filed by fugitive politician Ilan Shor. Bețișor left the system in August 2019, saying that she was made to resign. She denied the charges against her, calling the case against her “fabrication” and “revenge taking”.
