At the National Institute of Justice, the series of seminars on electoral integrity by combating corruption and illegal financing of political parties began

On Monday, September 8, 2025, at the National Institute of Justice, the series of seminars aimed at strengthening the capacity of the judicial system to ensure the integrity of the election process by combating electoral corruption and illegal financing of political parties began.

In the opening, the director of the INJ, Ramona Strugariu, highlighted the pioneering role of the Republic of Moldova in the adoption of the specific normative framework and in the completion of some cases of electoral corruption. You emphasized the importance of the accumulated experience for the judiciary, prosecutors and law enforcement agents, experience that must be effectively disseminated to improve the functionality of the judicial system in this segment.

During ten seminars, approximately 250 professionals will be trained - judges specializing in anti-corruption, prosecutors, criminal investigation officers from the General Police Inspectorate and inspectors from the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering Service. The theoretical and practical sessions will be supported by national and international experts: Valentin Horia Șelaru, retired judge from Romania, Ghennadi Epure, detached anti-corruption prosecutor and deputy director of INJ, Ana Cucerescu, judge at the Chisinau District Court, and Elena Cobzac, retired judge.

The training program will address the particularities of electoral cases, including electoral corruption, vote buying, illegal financing, as well as the involvement of organized crime or foreign entities in democratic processes. Another component of the training covers standards of evidence and their evaluation, dealing with various collection techniques, reliability criteria, combining evidence to build strong cases, as well as fundamental aspects of the rule of law and procedural safeguards.

The training activities are organized by the National Institute of Justice, with the support of the project "Resilient democracy through the fight against corruption" (REDACT), implemented by UNDP Moldova and financed by the European Union. The content of the seminars belongs to the authors and does not necessarily reflect the view of the UN, including the UNDP, the member states of the UN or the European Union.