Four employees at the State ID Center “Registru” were arrested on suspicion of facilitating the illegal issuance of passports for money, the National Anticorruption Center (NAC) said in a press release.
One of them was arrested at the moment of receiving 1,000 euros as part of a NAC operation. The money was meant for bribing other Registru officials in exchange for a passport for a sentenced person.
Three other Registru employees are suspected of asking 10,000 euros from a Ukrainian citizen who wanted a Moldovan passport.
The arrests accompanied by searches at the suspects' homes and offices were conducted on Thursday. All four are now in NAC's custody for 72 hours.
The suspects will be charged with influence peddling which carries prison sentences of 2 to 6 years.
