CHISINAU (Reuters) – Moldova’s pro-western president Maia Sandu appointed an acting prosecutor general on Wednesday a day after the previous holder was suspended and detained.
Sandu, who came to power last year promising to tackle entrenched corruption, said the removal of Alexandru Stoianoglo was needed to meet Moldovans’ hopes for justice.
Stoianoglo was detained and charged with helping criminal groups, which he says is an trumped-up accusation to force him out of office. He was appointed during the presidency of Sandu’s pro-Russian predecessor, Igor Dodon, in 2019.
Sandu on Wednesday supported the nominee offered by the High Council of Prosecutors and signed a decree to appoint an acting prosecutor general Dumitru Robu, who has worked as a deputy head of the Chisinau prosecutors’ office.
Robu, 41, has almost 15 years of professional experience including working as an anti-corruption prosecutor.
Speaking at the High Council of Prosecutors, he promised to continue the investigation of high-profile cases and “make efforts” to improve the image of the prosecutor general’s office.
Moldova, a small country of 3.5 million that borders European Union member Romania, has been dogged by instability and corruption scandals in recent years, including the disappearance of $1 billion from the banking system.
(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; writing by Natalia Zinets; editing by Barbara Lewis)
