Veronica Mihailov-Moraru: “The Republic of Moldova must step up the fight against corruption to increase confidence in the judiciary and ensure transparency”
05 October 2023, Chisinau – Minister of Justice Veronica Mihailov-Moraru participated in the Plenary Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which took place in Paris from 02-04 October 2023. During the event, the reports of the fifth follow-up round of the sub-regional peer review programme of the “Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan” ( IAP) for the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan were presented and adopted.
Of the 9 performance areas reviewed over the past year, OECD anti-corruption experts noted excellent progress in 4 of them, namely: Anti-Corruption Policies, Independence of the Judiciary, Independence of the Prosecutor’s Office and Specialised Anti-Corruption Authorities. Five other areas such as Anti-Corruption Enforcement, Conflict of Interest and Disclosure of Assets, Whistleblower Protection, Business Integrity, Public Procurement Integrity were assessed as having a medium level of compliance with ACN/OECD standards.
IAP President Drago Kos described the progress of the Republic of Moldova in the mentioned areas as very good, the dynamic process of our country’s efforts are visible and particularly important.
After the presentation of the report, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the Minister of Justice expressed gratitude for providing a comprehensive analysis, noting that all recommendations will be taken into account. “The Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan, as well as the evaluation report on the Republic of Moldova on anti-corruption measures, are relevant to assess our needs and are in line with our priorities of justice reform, fight against corruption, strengthening the institutions responsible for the fight against corruption, in order to be able, at the same time, to contribute to regaining citizens’ trust in the rule of law and to the economic development of the country. We are pleased to have confirmation of progress in some areas, and also useful recommendations for further action in the most vulnerable areas”, said Veronica Mihailov-Moraru.
The Minister of Justice also reported on measures taken to step up the fight against corruption. “The Republic of Moldova is committed to implementing deoligarchisation measures to eliminate the excessive influence of personal interests in economic, political and public life. At the legislative level, amendments have been promoted to streamline the mechanism of prosecution, trial and conviction in absentia of persons hiding from prosecution, to delimit the competences of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Centre in investigating cases of grand corruption, to improve legislation on special investigative measures. We are currently working on the extended confiscation mechanism, on updating the legislation on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, on the need to develop an effective mechanism for freezing, seizing, confiscating and capitalising criminal assets,” said the Minister of Justice.
“The above-mentioned objectives can be achieved more effectively with the support of the international community, development partners and good expertise, such as that provided by the OECD,” concluded Minister Mihailov-Moraru.
Iulian Rusu, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Centre, which is also the national coordinator for this evaluation process, participated in the meeting. Representatives of civil society from the Republic of Moldova also participated and contributed their views on the evaluation report.
The ACN is a platform to support Eastern European and Central Asian countries in the fight against corruption, providing a regional framework for promoting anti-corruption activities and facilitating engagement and exchange of experience on good anti-corruption practices in the region. The Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan is a peer review programme of the ACN, which brings together ten countries in the region, and was launched in 2003.
