Driving licence corruption case exposes another failed clean-up
Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and National Anti-Corruption Centre (CNA) officers have detained the director of a driving school in Chișinău over an alleged €1,500 bribe, yet another case suggesting that corruption in the driving licence system is not being dismantled, but merely exposed one arrest at a time.
For the authorities, this is another press release about a successful operation. For ordinary citizens, it raises a more uncomfortable question: if someone is being caught almost every month, why does the system keep producing the same schemes?
According to investigators, the director of one Chișinău driving school and an intermediary demanded and received €1,500 from a candidate taking the category B exam. In exchange, they allegedly promised to influence members of the examination commission at the Chișinău Driver Qualification Division of the Public Services Agency (ASP) so that the candidate would receive a pass mark in both the theory and practical parts of the test.
The CNA press release in the case is written in dry official language, but the facts are clear enough.
“The National Anti-Corruption Centre and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office this morning detained the director of a Chișinău driving school and an intermediary in a case of trading in influence. They allegedly demanded and received illegal payments from a candidate in order to fraudulently secure the issuing of a category B driving licence,” the statement said.
“According to the investigation, the suspects demanded and received €1,500 from the candidate, claiming they had influence over members of the examination commission at the Chișinău Driver Qualification Division of the ASP and could persuade the examiners to give the candidate a ‘passed’ mark in both the theory and practical parts of the exam,” CNA added.
During searches at the suspects’ homes, in their cars and at the driving school, investigators seized evidence considered relevant to the criminal case. Both suspects were placed in the CNA detention facility for 72 hours.
Arrests keep coming, but the system remains
A look through CNA and Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reports for 2026 creates a strong sense of déjà vu. In January, there was Comrat: two people detained, €2,000 for a category B licence. In February, Florești: one person, again €2,000. Somewhere in between came Bălți, where an instructor was caught red-handed while taking a €900 bribe. In September, another Chișinău instructor allegedly demanded €900 to secure a successful exam result. Now there is a driving school director and an intermediary, this time for €1,500.
Law enforcement is working. Officers detain people, seize evidence and send suspects to the detention facility to sit and think. And then what?
There are no clear public figures showing how many defendants in these cases have received real prison sentences in 2026. Most cases appear either to remain under investigation, to have been sent to court, or to be dissolving quietly in judicial delays. There is only one example suggesting that punishments do happen: in a corruption case in Orhei, one suspect had previously been sentenced at first instance to three years in prison on a similar charge.
But if punishments are real and the system works, why are detentions not falling? Why are the schemes becoming more sophisticated?
Fifty-three suspects in one case
The figure that should have triggered a national investigation is 53 accomplices in a single case. Yet it did not. The case uncovered in Călărași, under investigation since October 2025, involves 53 suspects: three examiners, an instructor, a driving school administrator and a former ASP employee. That is no longer a few isolated bribes. It looks like a production line.
The bribes in that case were more modest, at €500–700, but the alleged organised criminal group made up for it in volume. How many candidates did it help obtain licences? How many people were sent onto the roads without knowing traffic rules? Every bought licence is a risk. And how many such drivers are already on the same roads where fatal accidents happen every day?
That is just one case. In another episode, in October 2025, eight people were detained for using special equipment to transmit answers during the exam itself. High technology, this time, in the service of corruption.
So what is the problem? Perhaps the penalties are too soft. Perhaps not everyone caught taking a bribe receives a real sentence, and some “cooperate with the investigation” and get away with a fine. Or perhaps corruption in the driving licence system is not a bug, but a feature, because too many people benefit from keeping it alive.
If law enforcement detains someone almost every month, but the number of offences does not fall, the problem is not simply that someone has not yet been caught. The problem is that the fear of punishment still does not outweigh the profit from the bribe.
As long as a driving licence can be bought for €1,500, and the likely outcome is at most a suspended sentence or a fine, demand will not dry up. And those who get behind the wheel through such schemes will drive on the same roads used by you and your children.
A grim price list for bought licences
Joking aside, since the authorities still have not solved the problem, and PAS figures seem more interested in giving gifts to those close to them, here is a small ranking of where in Moldova it appears cheapest to “invest” in a driving license. It may come in useful to someone.
Best budget offer: Călărași. The going rate: €500–700. There is, however, a catch: the scheme has been uncovered, 53 accomplices are under investigation, and the whole case is now in the hands of law enforcement. But for anyone who likes risk and believes in luck, why not?
Silver medal: Bălți and Chișinău instructors. Price: €900. The instructor takes the money, the candidate passes the exam, and the instructor is caught red-handed. Fast, cheap and brutal. Bonus: there is a chance your instructor is already familiar with the arrest procedure and can explain how to behave with the CNA.
Bronze medal: Chișinău driving school director. Price: €1,500. A director looks more respectable and charges accordingly. He promises “influence over the commission”. In the end, the influence appears to have led not to the commission, but to the CNA detention facility for 72 hours.
Comrat and Florești: the premium segment. Price: €2,000. Expensive, but with status. Apparently, for that kind of money, the promise is not merely to “pass”, but to pass with dignity.
Exclusive offer: Chișinău, €4,000 for two episodes. One citizen allegedly promised to arrange category B and C licences without exams. Two clients, €4,000, detention. The price, presumably, includes work with a “relative with influence” and possibly even a lawyer’s consultation.
If anyone in power really wants to give a present to someone close, since the problem is not being solved anyway, now they know where to look. But remember: this ranking is valid only until the next detention. Judging by the trend, that will not be far away.
