Transport minister accused of creating scheme to extort money from drivers

Tudor Donos, a former employee of the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, said that Minister Anatol Salaru created a scheme to extort money from drivers working on interurban routes. According to him, the bus and minibus terminals monthly transfer money to employees named to posts by the minister, Info-Prim Neo reports. Tudor Donos said that immediately after appointed, Anatol Salaru named a relative of his as director general of IS “Gari si Statii Auto” (“Motor Terminals and Stations”). Afterward, every employee, starting with ticket sellers and ending with platform inspectors, had to daily transfer a certain sum of money to the administration. The money comes from drivers working on interurban routes who have to pay this ‘tribute’ so as to be able to work. “A sum of 2 million lei is collected every month from the Central Bus Station and the Southern Bus Station alone. I discussed with minibus and bus drivers working on interurban routes. They lose by 900 to 1,500 lei a month as they pay this money to the chiefs,” Tudor Donos told a news conference. The man said he wrote a letter to the senior officials, informing them about this scheme and providing evidence, video recordings made with hidden cameras, but he received no plausible answer. Prosecutors informed him that an investigation was launched into this case. “The investigation started two years ago, but that scheme continues to be implemented,” said Tudor Donos. Fiodor Ghelici, chairman of the National Anticorruption Council AO “Moldova Mea”, told the same news conference that after he discussed with Tudor Donos, he asked for information from districts and he received confirmation that the same ‘tribute’ for the administration of the Ministry of Transport is collected at the bus and minibus terminals in Balti and Causeni. According to the information presented in the news conference, the drivers often start work without technical overhaul and medical examination and, as a result, cause terrible accidents as the persons who must check them collect money.