PG Lazar:2,099 defendants charged with abuse of office in 4 years didn't committ offenses for self or relatives

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Published: 04/07/2018 17:02

Sursa foto: Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

Over the past four years 2,099 defendants - public servants, persons elected at local or county level - have been sent to court for committing some abuse of office offenses, but none of them have committed the offenses for themselves or for their relatives, Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar stated on Wednesday in the context of the amendments brought to the Criminal Code.

"It's an important day in which we should think very well about what we are doing in order not to regret it. Over the past two days, the Public Prosecution Service conducted an impact study in order to see what would happen if this law entered into force. The results are surprising. Firstly, over the past four years a number of 2,099 defendants, public servants, persons elected at local or county level, at central level, have been sent to court, for committing some abuse of office offenses. Interestingly, we've searched among these defendants to see if one of them committed the offenses for self or for relatives and we haven't found any case, which means that the professionalisation of this kind of criminal activity has reached a level, a more sophisticated way of operating. It implies the use of third parties, of some persons who are used as dummies, 'straw men,' who receive the respective benefits and disappear after that smoke screen," PG Lazar stated upon entering the Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) headquarters.

According to Lazar, a first conclusion would be that the abuse of office offense is cleared of charges.

"The problem which results from it, a first conclusion would be that, according to this draft article the abuse of office offense is cleared of charges. What remains in the Criminal Code is just a text form that would indicate the fact that the abuse of office offense hasn't entirely been abolished, but in practice, if over the last four years we haven't encountered any case that pertains to the typology that is retained in this text this means that the text is purely formal," Lazar said.

He mentioned that, if the amendments of the abuse of office offense entered into force, all 2,099 defendants would be acquitted.

"It results that all 2,099 defendants would remain acquitted, would be acquitted and the damage worth over 4 billion lei would not be recovered anymore. The precautionary measures would be lifted giving that there is no motive and it would be even an abuse of authorities to go after someone who behaved according to the current legal framework. Therefore, this type of conduct - abusing in favour of some third parties - wouldn't represent an offense," the PG explained.

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