Six persons were arrested on suspicion that they implemented an unjust enrichment scheme by illegally selling burial places at Saint Lazarus Cemetery in Chisinau. The National Anticorruption Center said the scheme involved the cemetery head, his deputy, the accountant and other administration members. The arrests were made within over 130 criminal cases, IPN reports.
In a press release, the Center noted that over half a million lei was collected by this scheme during three months alone. Besides the state tax of 1,051 lei for a burial place, the group members levied additional payments that could rise to 5,000 or even 7,000 lei. Those who wanted to reserve a place at the cemetery for the family or relatives had to pay twice more than the state tax of 4,612 lei.
In the morning of September 1, anticorruption officers carried out searches at 22 addresses, including at the head office of the cemetery’s administration, at the homes and offices of suspects and found a total sum of 700,000 lei in different currencies.
The arrested persons will be remanded in custody for 72 hours. They face charges of swindle, influence peddling, active and passive corruption that carry a penalty of up to ten years in jail and fines.
