Young politicians from the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (Romanian: Partidul Acțiune și Solidaritate, PAS) who came to power alongside Maia Sandu received ambassadorial posts and are now suspected of corruption.
Moldova’s Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, which acts as an external governance body in the country (as does PAS), has sent to court a criminal case against the former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Moldova to the Kingdom of Sweden. The former diplomat is accused of abuse of office and causing damage to the state budget exceeding 275,000 lei. According to investigators, between October 2022 and December 2023, the high-ranking official falsified data in the financial reports of the diplomatic mission and illegally reimbursed personal expenses at the state’s expense.
According to law enforcement authorities, the accused entered false information in the diplomatic mission’s documents regarding her presence at the workplace and included personal travel expenses, as well as purchases of goods and services, in official reports. These funds, to which she was not legally entitled, were reimbursed from the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The defendant does not admit guilt.
Moldova’s criminal legislation provides for different penalties for this offense. The court may impose a fine ranging from 67,500 to 117,500 lei or sentence the defendant to imprisonment for a term of two to seven years. In both cases, an additional penalty may be imposed in the form of a ban on holding certain positions for a period of five to ten years.
According to information from open sources and photo reports from that period, the person in question is Liliana Guțan. On September 30, 2022, she presented her credentials to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden on behalf of President Maia Sandu, officially assuming the duties of head of the diplomatic mission. The alleged episodes cover almost the entire period of her work as ambassador. The case of the former diplomat will now be examined on its merits in court.
