Voters from Sîngerei were recruited with 2,000 lei for specific votes in the presidential elections and the referendum in 2024.

In the context of the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on October 20, 2024, the defendants Victoria Galagan and Elena Musteață, acting together with another unidentified person, supporters of the political bloc "Victory", participated, from July to October 2024, in implementing a scheme of electoral corruption in localities of the Sângerei district.

They identified and recruited voters, organizing meetings at Musteață Elena's home, where they collected identity data, facilitated registration on communication applications, and transmitted instructions regarding electoral behavior.

At the end of September and the beginning of October 2024, through sums of money received from third parties, they distributed to voters 2000 lei each, promising or indicating them to vote in favor of a certain candidate and to opt for a certain option in the referendum.

Some of the financial resources used in the scheme were previously transferred through indirect channels, including in Russian rubles, which were subsequently converted and distributed in cash to voters.

First court: Conviction

The decision under review concerns an accusation of electoral corruption under Article 181¹ of the Criminal Code, charged against the defendants Galagan Victoria and Musteață Elena, consisting of offering and giving monetary means to a voter to influence their voting choice in the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on October 20, 2024.

The acts were committed within the framework of an organized activity at the local level, where the defendants, acting in concert with other persons, identified and recruited voters from a locality in the Sângerei district, organized meetings, collected identity data, and provided instructions regarding electoral behavior, including through the use of communication applications.

In this context, voters were offered and handed amounts of 2000 lei, being guided to vote in favor of a certain candidate and to opt for a certain option in the referendum. The court of first instance found the defendants guilty of the crime of electoral corruption, noting that their actions affected the freedom of voters' will formation, and imposed sanctions in the form of a monetary fine, considering that the purpose of the punishment could be achieved without applying a sentence of imprisonment, in the absence of aggravating circumstances and taking into account the characteristics of the defendants.