Four employees of the state-run Information Resources Center “Registru” and the Bureau for Migration and Asylum and two accomplices were placed under arrest for 72 hours. These are suspected of misuse of power and falsification of public documents in the interests of criminal groups, IPN reports.
Among those arrested is the acting head of the Comrat documents issuing section, an employee of the immigration section of the Bureau for Migration and Asylum, the head of the citizenship section of “Registru”, the deputy head of the passport control section of “Registru” and two intermediaries.
The head of the Bureau’s immigration and repatriation section is also investigated in this case. As a result of the searches, he needed medical care and was taken to the Emergency Hospital for examination.
According to prosecution officers, the employees of “Registru”, in collusion with the intermediaries and the representatives of the Bureau for Migration and Asylum, issued biometric passports, falsifying the identity of the beneficiaries. It was established that a number of persons convicted in Moldova and in other countries received passports with a new identity.
A couple was put on the wanted list for committing a number of offenses in Moldova and the U.S. In 2010, the law enforcement bodies of the U.S. issued an arrest warrant against the woman, who was accused of obtaining loans of about US$50 million by using forged documents. Two years ago, the woman was arrested by the police in Moldova, but she managed to escape from house arrest. Several months ago, those arrested were extradited to the U.S.
This case involves citizens of Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine, who were convicted and are looked for by the Interpol for tax evasion, trafficking in drugs, misappropriation of funds, organization of criminal groups, etc.
It was established that 31 persons came into possession of false identification papers by paying up to €10,000 per passport. The suspects face up to ten years in jail.
