200,000 lei distributed in Florești to persuade voters to vote "against" in the constitutional referendum and in favor of a certain candidate in the presidential elections.

The defendants, as territorial representatives of the political bloc "Victory", participated in an organized mechanism of electoral corruption, through which they received and distributed monetary means (approximately 200,000 lei) through activists, with the aim of persuading voters from the Florești district to vote for a certain candidate in the presidential elections and to opt for "NO" in the constitutional referendum on 20.10.2024.

Specifically, they offered sums of money to voters during meetings with political supporters.

Other property measures: The monetary amounts of 860 lei, 300 lei, 1000 Belarusian rubles, 160 Russian rubles, 5 Romanian lei, and 2 hryvnias were confiscated in favor of the state.

First instance: Conviction
Appeal: Conviction
Cassation: Inadmissible cassation

The appellate court confirms the existence of an organized mechanism of electoral corruption, based on the systematic distribution of financial resources through activists and the use of financial infrastructure (including the PSB application). At the same time, it notes that criminal liability exists even in the case of indirect coordination of payments, without the direct transfer of money.

At the same time, the appellate court corrects the approach of the court of first instance regarding the fate of the assets, emphasizing that the mere use of cards and phones does not justify their destruction, but rather requires their return to the owners, in the absence of the character of prohibited objects or tools specially adapted to the crime.

By maintaining the conviction and declaring the appeals inadmissible, the courts have reinforced the interpretation that the use of organized mechanisms for transferring funds to voters, including through financial applications and intermediaries, may constitute electoral corruption even in the absence of direct contact between the organizers and the final beneficiaries of the amounts.