cris no. 2019/410-242
TRANSCRIPT
Annex I to the Contribution Agreement
CRIS No. 2019/410-242
Financed under European Neighbourhood Instrument
Description of the Action
Strengthen the rule of law and anti-corruption mechanisms
in the Republic of Moldova
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations 3
1 Summary 4
2 Context 5
2.1 Country context 5
2.2 Government policies and reforms 6
2.3 Anti-corruption institutions and key stakeholders 8
2.4 Civil society and media 12
3 Logic of the Action 14
3.1 Overall Approach 14
3.2 Objectives and Expected Results 15
4 Design of the Action and Programme Management 16
4.1 Main Activities and Methodological Approach 16
4.2 Main Partners, Target Beneficiaries 27
4.3 Programme Management and Methods of Implementation 27
4.4 Sustainability of the Action 30
4.5 Complementarity, synergies and other relevant actions 31
4.6 Cross-cutting issues 34
5 Risks, Mitigating Measures and Assumptions 34
6 Programme Governance (steering structure) 36
7 Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting 36
7.1 Results-based monitoring System 36
7.2 Reporting 37
7.3 Auditing 37
8 Communication and Visibility 37
9 Timing, Indicative Work Plan and Logical Framework 38
9.1 Timing 38
9.2 Indicative Work Plan 39
9.3 Log frame Matrix 41
List of Abbreviations
AAAMLAROAROATUBMZCARINCCICDCoACPICSODoAEaREBAECEEENPENPIESAEUFIAFIUGIZGoMGPOIMCLCCLPAM&EMIPSNACNDSNFRDNGONIANI ASNSRDPCCOCSRBNRDCRMRSPSCSCM
Association Agreement
Anti-money-laundering
Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office
Criminal Asset Recovery AgencyAutonomous Territorial Unit
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany
Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network
Chamber of Commerce and IndustryCapacity DevelopmentCourt of Accounts
Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International
Civil Society OrganizationDescription of ActionThe Eastern PartnershipEuropean Business Association
European Commission
Energy EfficiencyEuropean Neighbourhood Programme
European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
European System of Accounts
European Union
Foreign Investors Association
Office for Prevention and Fight against Money LaunderingGerman Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbHGovernment of Moldova
General Prosecutor's Office
Inter-Municipal Cooperation
Local Citizens Committee (Civil Engagement Groups)Local Public Authorities (Level 1 and Level 2)Monitoring and evaluationModernisation of Local Public Services projectNational Anti-Corruption Centre
National Development StrategyNational Fund for Regional DevelopmentNon-Governmental Organization
National Integrity Authority
National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy (NIAS) and an Action PlanNational Strategy for Regional DevelopmentSpecialised Prosecutor's Office on Organised Crime and Special CausesGIZ Regional Office North, HamburgRegional Development CouncilRepublic of MoldovaRegional Sector Programmes
Steering CommitteeSuperior Council of the Magistracy
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1 Summary
gizTitle/Number ofthe Project
Strengthen the rule of law & anti-corruption mechanisms in the Republic of MoldovaCRIS ctr. number: 2019/410-242 (financed nder European Neighbourhood Instrument)
Overall Objective To contribute to the prevention and fight against corruption.
SpecificObjectives
1. To develop zero tolerance against corruption among Moldovan citizens2. To strengthen anti-corruption mechanisms including the Investigation and prosecution
mechanisms, the asset recovery functions, the declaration of assets and of conflict ofinterest and the prevention of corruption.
Purpose of theAction
This Action will reinforce Cooperation mechanisms between CSOs and specialisedagencies through the creation of participatory platforms and innovative anti-corruptioninitiatives.
Expected Results
1. The level of citizens activity, especially at local level, in the prevention and fight againstcorruption, and the awareness of citizens on the harms of corruption and on the waysto fight corruption have increased;
2. The institutional and operational capacities of the existing specialised Investigation andprosecutors bodies have increased in order to assure an efficient and effectiveprevention and fight against corruption and money laundering;
3. The national criminal asset recovery System is fully in place and has a progressivetrack record for 'Identification, freezing, management and confiscation of criminalassets;
4. Effective Systems of declaration of assets and conflict of interests are fullyimplemented;
5. Measures for the effective prevention of corruption risks, which were identified in threehigh-risk sectors, are strengthened based on the results of the Sectorial Action Plans(NIAS).
TargetBeneficiaries
Leadership and employees of specialized anti-corruption bodies of Moldova; citizens fromselected Local Public Authorities (LPAs), including Local Citizen Committees (LCCs);media and individual journalists.
MainStakeholders
National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC), National Integrity Authority (NIA), GeneralProsecutor's Office (GPO), Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO),Specialised Prosecutor's Office on Organised Crime and Special Causes (PCCOCS),Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering (FIU), Criminal Asset RecoveryAgency (ARO) under the NAC; Ministry of Justice; Mayor s and councils of LPAs; CSO;Civil Engagement Groups such as Local Citizens Committees and grass-rootsorganizations; regional development agencies and councils.
Duration 04/2020 - 12/2023 (45 months)
Budget
Total estimated cost: EUR 10 600 000.Total amount of EU budget contribution EUR 7 800 000.This Action is co-financed in joint co-financing by the German Federal Ministry forEconomic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for an amount of EUR 2 800 000.
ProgrammesEuropean Neighbourhood Programme (Single Support Framework for EU support to theRepublic of Moldova, 2017-2020)
Method ofImplementation
Contribution Agreement (Indirect management)
ImplementingAgency
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
2 Context
2.1 Country context
In recent years, the Republic of Moldova has initiated a number of reform processes in vitalgovernance-related areas. Some successes included reforms in the financial sector and thespecialised prosecutor s Offices. The implementation of those reforms facilitated the Visaliberalization with the EU, which entered into force in April 2014 and the AssociationAgree ent (AA), which was signed in June 2014. The AA includes a Deep andComprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU, offering a framework for trade andeconomic development inter alia through approximation with the EU law.
However, systemic problems slow down the implementation of key reforms. TheseProblems include an ineffective fight against (high-level) corruption and vested interests, alack of independence and impartiality of judges and public prosecutors as well as thepoliticisation of most state institutions. In 2014, the country was struck by a number of high-level scandals, including the loss of over one billion USD from Government s funds (knownas the Banking Fraud ): Three Moldovan banks were subjected to a large, coordinatedfraud, which took place over at least three years and which resulted in their collapse. Inaddition to this, with the Russian Laundromat case it became clear that between 2011 and2014 at least USD 20.8 billion from 19 Russian banks had been laundered. Moldova s totallosses from corruption can be estimated at 8% to 13% of GDP. As of 2018, no assets havebeen recovered and almost no culprits prosecuted.
To address these challenges, the Government of Moldova (GoM) has initiated severalreforms, for example related to the Office of the prosecutor and to the prevention of hostiletakeovers of shares in banks, Companies and less transparent deals with state assets.Nevertheless, corruption at all levels remains widely spread. In sectors like education orhealth, cases of corruption are being perceived as frequent by Moldovan citizens, includingkinder gardens, schools and hospitals. Local public authorities (LPAs) often lack thecapacities and political will to ensure transparency and accountability in their decision-making processes. Consequently, heads of LPAs were apprehended for corruption chargesand opaque procurement practices. In particular the procurement of medical equipment anddrugs appears to have been affected by corruption. As the National Anticorruption Centre(NAC) reported, in the first nine months of 2018, five groups of institutions were in the focusof the institution s activities: local public administration (59 activities), justice and internalaffairs (45), health (39), private sector (37), budget and public property management (17) aswell as education (13).1
Against this background, it does not come as a surprise that the population lacks trust inpublic authorities. The Corruption Perception Index of Transparency Internationalcontinues to indicate a low trust of citizens in public institutions with the level of trust droppingover the years (CPI 2018: score of 33/100 or rank 117/180). Though intolerance towardscorruption has been growing, citizens still do not cooperate enough with public authoritieswhen it comes to reporting and detecting corruption. The corruption perception is furtheraggravated by high rates of emigration, lack of adequate employment opportunities, low levelof wages and high incidences of poverty. As a result, corruption, poor governance andimpunity are damaging the country s fragile democracy.
At the same time, civil society appears to be weak to fulfil their function as watchdogs ,monitor government s activities, hold them accountable and participate in decision-makingprocesses. This is especially the case in rural areas outside the Capital. There are around8,000 civil society organisations (CSOs) registered in Moldova, but the real figure of activeCSOs is unknown, as many of local public authorities do not present relevant Information to
1 Düring the first half of 2018, NAC had in its management 1520 cases, 631 cases were initiated, 352 cases ere
finalised, out of which 173 criminal cases with 195 persons were sent with indictments to courts.
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gizthe Ministry of Justice. According to most recent studies, only 25% of CSOs are active andfew have implemented projects. The existing CSOs lack financial resources and haveunderdeveloped civic spirit and volunteering. Compared to other countries in the region,Moldovan CSOs depend more heavily on external resources: foreign donors fund around 80-90% of all CSO activities. In addition to this, the deficiencies in enforcing the legislation ontransparency in decision-making and defective institutional practices at the central and locallevel hamper the participation of civil society in decision-making processes and prevent themfrom playing a much more active role in the struggle for accountability and the preventionand fight against corruption in Moldova (see 2.4).
This could be changed through the Implementation of the newly adopted National Integrityand Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan. This project hence focuses among otherson support of civil society, including grass-roots organizations, and the encouragement ofstate-citizen Cooperation in anti-corruption efforts.
2.2 Government policies and reforms
Important progress has been made to put in place efficient anticorruption policies andmechanisms in the Republic of Moldova within recent years. The government reforms andpolicies are oriented towards the Agenda 2030 and in particular the sustainabledevelopment goals (SDGs) 16.4, 16.5, 16.6, 16.7 and 16.10. Besides, the reforms aresupposed to be in line with the implementation of the EU Association Agreement. Article 16of the AA focuses on preventing and combatting organized crime, corruption and otherillegal activities. Furthermore, Article 18 of the AA promotes the fight against moneylaundering and financing of terrorism. The 2017-19 Association Agenda identified 13 keypriorities. The ones related to anti-corruption and anti-money laundering encompass fightingcorruption at all levels and high-level corruption, effective implementation of the NationalIntegrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy (NIAS), strengthening coordination and informationexchange among institutions, putting in place efficient financial Investigation and assetrecovery mechanisms, and strengthening the operational capacity of the National IntegrityAuthority.
In this context, the Government of Moldova adopted the Integrity Law (2017), the Law onInstitutional Integrity Assessment (2016), the package of laws on reforming the NationalIntegrity Commission (2016), and the Law on the Asset Recovery Agency (2017).
The current sector-wide National Integrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy (NIAS) 2017 -2020 was adopted on 30 March 2017 and complemented with an Action Plan. Building onthe assessment of the previous NIAS 2011 - 2015, the strategy is characterised by a simplerarchitecture incorporating the requirements of the Agenda 2030 and focusing on sevenintegrity pillars that are particularly vulnerable to corruption.
These pillars include (i) the parliament, (ii) government, public sector and local publicadministration, (iii) justice and anticorruption authorities, (iv) the Central Electoral
gizCommission and political parties, (v) the Court of Accounts, (vi) People s Advocate, (vii) theprivate sector. The review of the previous NI AS also highlighted the growing need to movebeyond the modification of the legislative framework and organisational restructuring towardsan effective implementation and enforcement of changes, producing tangible results for thecitizens of the Republic of Moldova.
The initial Version of the Action Plan for the NIAS also foresaw detailed actions for Pillar VIIIcivil society . However, as the Action Plan involves a formal reporting requirement to the
National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC), civil society representatives strongly opposed thisidea being perceived as an attempt to limit civil society in its actions. It has subsequentlybeen excluded from the NIAS Action Plan.
The NIAS further foresees the development of sectorial anti-corruption action plans forselected high-risk sectors for which the Government approved the mechanism ofdevelopment and coordination2. So far, sectorial action plans have been approved for thesectors education, health and mandatory health Insurance, public procurement, customs, thefiscal sector, public property management and public order. Two additional sectorial actionplans - in environment and agro-food sectors - were approved by the Government but havenot yet been published in the official Gazette. The sectorial action plans provide preventiveanti-corruption actions, such as exclusion of cash in the activity of parents associationsand educational institutions, enhanced mechanisms to measure the prices for medicine andmedical equipment, monitoring of public procurement in the health sector and implementingthe digitalised public procurement process.
The implementation Status of the NIAS is discussed annually in the Committee forNational Security, Defence and Public Order. The results are presented to Parliament. Themonitoring of the NIAS rests hereby on three dedicated monitoring groups responsible for themonitoring of the implementation of the actions related to specific pillars (Group 1 Pillar I andIV; Group 2 Pillar II and VII; Group 3 Pillar III, V, VI). These monitoring groups are composedof the representatives of the institutions responsible for the implementation of the respectivepillars as well as civil society representatives. Meetings are held in public twice a year todiscuss the progress and difficulties in implementing the actions. The very first suchmeetings took place at the end of May 2018. NAC functions as secretariat for the monitoringprocess.
The monitoring report for 20173 on the implementation of the Strategy highlightedimplemented activities. At the same time, it pointed at necessary additional efforts. Amongothers, the report recommended the further strengthening of the institutional capacitiesof the main state actors. Similarly, the NAC monitoring report for the first half of 20184highlights a number of additional activities in this direction. A key challenge for theimplementation of the NIAS Action Plan appears to be insufficient budgeting of the actionsin the budgets of the respective public institutions. The EU Delegation is actively involved inpolicy dialogue with the NAC to facilitate the process of budgeting the remaining parts of thestrategy.
In June 2018 the Anticorruption Prosecutors Office (APO), the National AnticorruptionCentre (NAC) and the Agency for the Recovery of Illegal Assets (ARO) published the AssetRecovery Strategy for financial means which were stolen from the three commercial banks(see above: context).
Since 2011, the Republic of Moldova is a participant of the Open Government Partnership(OGP). The respective National Action Plan for an open government 2019-2020 includesimportant commitments in the field of improving access to information for citizens, increasing
Government Decision no. 676 from 29.08.2017 on the approval of the mechanism of development andcoordination of the sectorial and local anticorruption action plans for 2018-2020.3 Report for 2017 on the implementation of the National Integrity and Anticorruption Strategy.4 Report for the first half of 2018 on the implementation of the National Integrity and Anticorruption Strategy.
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gizthe transparency of public budgets and procurements, as well as enhancing accountability ofpublic institutions and the collaboration with CSOs5.
Additionally, the 2017 Joint Staf working Document on Eastern Partnership - focusingon key priorities and deliverables delineates key priorities and deliverables that will guidethe bi-lateral Cooperation with partner countries for the following years. Deliverable No. 9focuses on the rule of law and anti-corruption mechanisms, which mirror the overall objectiveof this Action and objectives 2-4 (see 3.1.).
Furthermore, the first Commission report under the Visa Suspension mechanism, publishedin December 2017, considered that anti-corruption and anti-money laundering are areas forimmediate action to keep up the continuous fulfilment of Visa liberalisation benchmarks. Inaddition to this, the Council Conclusions on the Republic of Moldova of February 2018underline renewed efforts dedicated to a more decisive fight against corruption with tangibleresults for the citizens. The second Commission report6, published on 19lh of December2018, stressed the urgent need to address the anticorruption benchmark by focusing on thefollowing aspects:
(1) strengthen the capacities of the National Integrity Authority by appointing thenecessary number of integrity officers;
(2) effectively apply the asset declaration System for high-level officials;(3) effectively apply the Asset Recovery Strategy;(4) ensure a track record of fight against high-level corruption;(5) effectively investigate the banking fraud, recover the misappropriated funds and
bring the responsible to justice without any further delay.
2.3 Anti-corruption institutions and key stakeholders
The main institutions with a mandate to lead or be involved in the fight against corruption,including anti-money laundering, and / or to take preventive anti-corruption measures, are
a) the National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC)b) the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO)c) the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO)d) the Specialised Prosecutor's Office on Organised Crime and Special Causes
(PCCOCS)e) the Criminal Asset Recovery Agency (ARO) under the NACf) the Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering (FIU)g) the National Integrity Authority (NIA)h) the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)i) the Court of Accounts (CoA),
as well as Police, the Ministry of Interior, the Tax Authorities, the Customs and the NationalBank of Moldova.
The landscape of institutions and state authorities with mandates in the field of anti-corruption is rather fragmented. This poses not only a coordination and communicationchallenge, but also increases obstacles to joint and parallel Investigation and a Strategieleadership for anti-corruption. It also leads to deficiencies in accountability of the stateinstitutions. Moreover, the supervision and management of each institution s and agency sactivities are a matter of deep concern. It is difficult to comprehend how the communication,liaison, priorities and strategy of the different actors and units can be effective, efficient andviable both in manpower and resources. While many of the actors and units are relatively
5 https://www.opengovpartnership.org/sites/default/files/Moldova_Action-Plan_2018-2020_EN.docx6 The Second Report of the Commission to the European Parliament and Council on the Visa SuspensionMechanism.
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giznew, observations of the scoping mission show that they are seriously depleted in manyaspects. This heavily impacts improved anticorruption policies for the country.
What follows is a brief characterization of each of the central institutions enlisted above.
a) National Anti-Corruption Centre (NAC)
NAC is the specialised prevention and criminal investigation body for corruption andcorruption related offences. NAC was created in 2002. Since then, it has been reformedseveral times. In 2012, the competences as well as the name of the Institution were changed.As of now, NAC is responsible for: (1) the review of draft normative acts of Parliament orGovernment, (2) the evaluation of institutional integrity, including monitoring ofImplementation of integrity plans and evaluation of progress, (3) the investigation of minorcrimes of corruption, and (4) the prevention of misdemeanours and offences related tocorruption. NAC investigates corruption and corruption related offences. NAC has threeOffices, one central Office in Chisinau and two regional Offices in Balti and Cahul. Altogether,NAC holds 342 positions, with a budget of around 6,8 Mio. EUR. The leadership of the NACis appointed by Parliament.
NAC supervised the implementation of the 2011-2015 National Anticorruption Strategy andled the development and approval of the current NIAS, also building its secretariat. Besidesits preventive work, the further qualification of civil servants in anti-corruption is a task ofNAC, since it is obliged to conduct relevant training for other state agencies.
Currently organizational and / or communicational deficiencies of NAC and APO/ PCCOCShinder and/or slow down the inter-agency Cooperation in complex anti-corruption cases.Therefore, the current tendency is to assign all anti-corruption and money laundering casesof greater significance under the direct supervision of the APO and the PCCOCS. At thesame time, both the preventive and the investigative functions of the NAC must bestrengthened in view of the challenges in high-risk sectors such as education, health andpublic procurement (see Support by UNDP and CLEP at 4.5). Finally, it is worth mentioningthat the responsiveness of NAC to citizens complaints appears to be doubtful, with reportedcases of complaints remaining unanswered for several months.
b) General Prosecutor's Office (GPO)
GPO is the central agency of public prosecution, entrusted with the general management ofpublic prosecution, including central accounting of all prosecution Offices. It supervises theprosecutorial practice, the implementation of management policy, as well as international andpublic relations. With the help of a recent reform, the specialised and regional prosecutors Offices have received more competencies to conduct criminal investigations. Still theProsecutor General holds competence order in the investigation of highly complex cases. Inaddition to this, GPO is in the lead to manage the institutional development of theprosecutors Offices. It participates in developing the relevant sector policies. Since 2017,instead of GPO, the MoJ is entrusted with the development of public policies in the integrityand anticorruption sector, and criminal justice in general.
c) Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO)
APO is the specialised prosecutors Office resulting from a recent restructuring andconstitutes the main Institution with the mandate to investigate corruption cases in theRepublic of Moldova. It has received additional institutional and procedural functions, and itsautonomy has been strengthened. Additional functions and improvements of the APO are:(1) the possibility of secondment of criminal investigation officers from NAC or the Ministry ofInterior for a period of 5 years; (2) separate budgeting and accounting; (3) regional Offices.
Anticorruption prosecutors are now empowered to criminally prosecute corruption cases anddirectly manage the investigation, under the condition that the object or subject are of
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gizsignificance.7 In addition to this, ARO leads the criminal Investigation in anti-corruption casesinvestigated by the investigative officers of the NAC. However, ARO still faces procedura limitations, which are mainly related to a lack of (access to) resources. Especially, theaccountancy is still being managed by the Prosecutor General s Office. ARO is currentlyunderstaffed and lacks managerial and logistical capacity to effectively fulfil its mandate. Theidea of mobile investigatory capacities will strengthen the prosecution Services to betterexercise their role in the different stages of the criminal justice chain. Moreover, the AROalso lacks basic communication and public relations capacities that need to be addressed bythis project.
d) Specialised Prosecutor's Office on Organised Crime and Special Causes (PCCOCS)
The PCCOCS is the second specialised prosecutors Office recently created. It deals withcases of terrorism, organised crime, human trafficking, as well as other special cases. Inaddition, money laundering falls under the competences of PCCOCS, in case that anorganised criminal group or a criminal Organisation committed the offence.8 PCCOCS alsoleads criminal investigations that have been initiated by the competent bodies of the Ministryof Inferior and the Customs Office. As in the case of ARO, PCCOCS received (1) anincreased institutional and budgetary autonomy, (2) the secondment of criminal investigativeofficers and (3) the opportunity to create regional Offices. Similarly, the budget of PCCOCSdepends on the decision of the Prosecutor General, with the endorsement of the SupremeCouncil of Prosecutors.
The overall budget for public prosecutors in 2018 was around 17.6 Mio. EUR, with amaximum overall staff number of 720 public prosecutors and 700 support personnel.PCCOCS is currently under a considerable budgetary constraint in terms of existinginfrastructure, means for specialized investigations, mobility, and Office equipment. However,the confiscation of money and goods by PCCOCS contributed to an increase in the nationalbudget.
PCCOCS also plays a crucial role in dealing with tax evasion cases (above 2 500 000 lei). Itis worth mentioning that the PCCOCS does not have the opportunity to rely on the capacitiesof the NAC (as it is the case with the APO). Finally, it is worth mentioning that both APO andPCCOCS are not entirely free to manage international relations, as they depend on theconsent of the GPO.
e) Criminal Assel Recovery Agency under NAC (ARO)
ARO is a specialised structure within the NAC, responsible for: (1) the Identification, freezing,management and selling of the proceeds of offences and (2) parallel financial investigations.Its main purpose is to support the work of the prosecutors to ensure that the proceedsresulting from criminal activity are effectively seized and public damage compensated. AROundertakes parallel financial investigations to ensure that the assets linked to criminal activityare effectively identified, frozen and seized as a result of the criminal prosecution. As ofOctober 2018, ARO had 18 investigator positions. Institutionally, ARO is subordinated toNAC as one of its internal structures. As the Law on State Budget does not foresee aseparate budget line for ARO, its funding is included in the overall budget of NAC.
Challenges and future tasks are parallel financial investigations, as well as relations withother specialized anti-corruption bodies, and participation and membership of ARO ininternational Conferences and anti-money laundering networks. ARO needs to be equippedwith necessary logistics, expertise and inter-agency Cooperation tools to perform its dutieseffectively, notably in the context of the recovery of the assets stolen in 2014 (cf. context).Those may include mobile capabilities to react to different cases and a well-trained staff.
7 Corruption with a particularly high damage - over 125,000 EUR, or benefits of over 12,500 EUR, or a highranking official.8 As defined by articles 46 and 47 of the Criminal Code.
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d
gizf) Office for Prevention and Fight against Money Laundering (FIU)
FIU is a specialised body with separate legal personality since March 2018. Prior to this date,FIU belonged to the NAC. A new law has transposed the EU Directive 2015/849 on theprevention of the use of the financial System for the purposes of money laundering or terroristfinancing.9 The FIU s main functions are (1) to receive notifications, based on the reportingon transactions received from a broad ränge of entities (resp. banks), and to identifysuspicious transactions as relates to money laundering or financing of terrorism; (2) to reportto the criminal investigation bodies and to the Moldovan Intelligence Service the suspiciouscases of money laundering or financing of terrorism and (3) to conduct financialinvestigations to identify the effective sources of financing. The budget of the FIU for 2018was at 1.037 Mio. EUR with 30 positions of staff.
Inter-agency Cooperation in the context of complex corruption and money laundering casesappears to be a challenge for FIU and other specialized anti-corruption bodies likewise,because several institutions will have the investigatory capacities to handle anti-moneylaundering (AML) cases. As those mandates are not yet properly assigned, the FIU will havethe difficult task to facilitate and coordinate an effective inter-agency Cooperation and jointoperational teams. In addition to this, the data exchange as well as the analysis of complexdata stemming from financial investigations and from suspicious financial transactionsreported to the FIU need further improvement. Besides, the agency faces a lack ofsupervisory mechanisms to monitor and approve its activities.
g) National Integrity Authority (NIA)
NIA is the national body responsible for the receipt and review of asset and personal interestdeclarations submitted by persons holding public positions and public dignity functions. TheLaw no. 132/2016 defines the institutional framework of NIA, including the Integrity Council,the Director and Deputy Director of the Authority, as well as the integrity officers responsibleto analyse the consistency of the declarations. For the time being, NIA is not yet operationalwith vacancies being the main problem. The leadership of NIA was appointed at the end of2017. At the end of 2018, only 7 out of 46 integrity officer positions had been filled.
At the beginning of 2018 the public electronic platform of asset and personal interestdeclaration (http://www.declaratii.ani.md/) has been launched. The budget of the NIA for2018 was 0.41 Mio. EUR, with a total staff number of 76 positions.
The current task is to fully implement the existing preventive Instruments of NIA, includinganalysis of asset and personal interest declarations. Likewise, the effective and efficientaccess to data, the swiftness of review as well as international Cooperation in exchange ofdata appear to be challenges for the years to come. Once NIA is fully operationalised, it is ofimportance to create and strengthen formal relations with the CSOs and grass-rootorganisations active in the field as well as with specialised media.
h) Ministry of Justice (MoJ)
MoJ is responsible for the development and promotion of public policies in anti-corruptionand integrity. This function was attributed to the MoJ after the central public administrationreform of 2017 and new regulation of ministries, including the MoJ. Besides policy-making, amore active role of the MoJ in preventing corruption, including risk assessment and furtherlegislative work (e.g. in view of international co-operation in criminal matters), seems to bepossible. MoJ could well complement some functions of the NAC by further improving thelegislative framework, for example in the so-called high-risk sectors of corruption.
i) Court of Accounts (CoA)
CoA is responsible for the review of the legality, conformity, efficiency, effectiveness of use ofpublic funds and public property. Its mandate is to release reports, to promote international
9 Law no. 308/2017 on the prevention and fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism
gizStandards of public financial management and to ensure transparency of its werk anddisseminate its decisions and recommendations.
The decisions of the CoA are a valuable source of analysis for politicians as well as forspecialized anti-corruption bodies with regard to the management of public funds andproperty. So far, its findings have not been used to the extent possible, which seems to be aProblem on the side of the recipients of CoA reports. The relevant specialized anti-corruptionagencies should be encouraged to place more emphasis and reliance on the Professionalreports (information) emanating from the CoA. Besides its Status as an advisory body,several constraints hinder the CoA to play a more active role in the fight against andprevention of corruption, e.g. active members of the CoA can easily be threatened bycriminal charges for false or misleading denouncement of public officials.
Other stakeholders
While the above-mentioned central authorities have a special function in the fight againstcorruption and AML, the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Financehave been entrusted to implement the NIAS and the corresponding sectorial integrity andanticorruption action plans. In addition, the Implementation will be entrusted to other publicand state institutions such as the Tax Inspectorate, the Customs Office, the Police and theNational Bank.
The judiciary also plays an essential role in the overall criminal justice chain. Düring theinception phase, the project will analyse whether and to what extent the Courts of Moldovacan be included in the project as well.
The mandates of these authorities in anti-corruption activities relate to (1) institutionalmeasures to promote integrity, (2) Implementation of tools to increase transparency andtracking of actions taken by the employees of these authorities and (3) targeted awarenessraising to increase the resilience of state employees as well as the general population
2.4 Civil society and media
The Civil Society Development Strategy for 2018-2020 focuses on
(1) Cooperation of public sector institutions with civil society,(2) enhanced financing sources for civil society,(3) development of citizens activism and civic education.
The strategy and action plan envisage various sources of funding for activities. Monitoring ofimplementation will be done by a Monitoring Committee, with representatives from the CSOs,Parliament, Government and the development Partners. The development of the strategycoincided with the development of important public policies such as the reform of theelectoral System and the promotion of fiscal amnesties. Therefore, CSC have a scepticalview on state policy, including the Civil Society Development Strategy. However, a number ofpublic policy proposals were initiated in critical sectors such as public financial management,business promotion, exclusion of off-shore jurisdictions as vehicles of disguise of truebeneficiaries, and in the transparent financing of political parties. These efforts requirecontinuation and sustainability to further enhance the integrity and fight against corruption.
2.4.1 CSO landscape
CSOs constitute an official pillar of the NIAS and can play a powerful role in the preventionand fight against corruption. However, public trust in CSOs is low, only one third of thepopulation seems to trust CSOs due to insufficient transparency, lack of awareness of and
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gizrising expectations in CSO activities by citizens as well as concerns about the independenceand accountability of CSOs.10
The CSOs active in the field of anti-corruption and anti-money laundering are predominantlylocated in Chisinau, have little or no presence in the regions of Moldova and arecharacterised by a strong reliance on funding from international donors. They include, amongothers, the Anticorruption Alliance, the IDIS Viitorul, the Legal Resource Centre, theAssociation for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), the Centre for the Analysis andPrevention of Corruption (CAPC), the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE),the Transparency International - Moldova Chapter, the Centre for Investigative Journalism orthe Expert Group. While these organisations have a comparatively high capacity for policyanalysis and project implementation, they are still lacking connections with local citizens initiatives and grass-root organisations to facilitate and mobilise reforms on the ground.
The above-mentioned organisations are already implementing a considerable number ofinternational grants and technical assistance projects, including EU-funded projects, in thefield of anti-corruption. The spectre of topics is wide: budgetary transparency, publicprocurement, public hearings, monitoring of implementation of the Association Agreementand other EU-Moldova framework documents, journalistic investigations and formulation andmonitoring of public policies from the integrity and anticorruption perspective. Thus, thebigger and better established Moldovan CSO perform a multitude of tasks. For example, theyare already active in the justice sector, public financial management, integrity of publicofficials, public procurement, regional decentralization and support of local public authoritiesas well as other Association Agreement implementation.
While there is a strong concentration of CSOs in Chisinau, there exist some anticorruptionalliances, as well as thematic groups, which are involved at regional and local levels (e.g.CONTACT in Cahul or Certitudine and Lex 21 in Balti). At the local level, citizens facechallenges in holding local governments and public officials accountable. It is often difficult toparticipate in the decision-making processes in their local government structures, since theycan be exposed to various corrupt practices that include bribes, red tape, and inaccessibilityof essential information on key local procurement projects, execution of municipal budgets,tax violations and so forth.
To bridge the gap between citizens and public institutions, development partners havepiloted non-institutionalised structures such as local citizens councils (LCCs). However,their activity often depends on a few active individuals, personal interest and the willingnessof local public authorities (LPA) to cooperate. Moreover, a key challenge is to find reliablefinancial sources to sustain these activities. In the past, the citizens’ participatory budgetplanning pilot project allowed citizens to propose projects to the Chisinau Council. Basedon a selection committee decision, the best projects were selected for implementation withlocal budget resources. This practice could be replicated at other local councils, while alsoaddressing issues of integrity and anti-corruption. Moreover, proactive mayors and localcouncils of cities and larger settlements can play a decisive role in the activation of citizensagainst corruption.
2.4.2 Media’s role
The Media is a potentially important actor to ensure bottom-up accountability vis-ä-vis theGovernment and the work of specialised agencies. Even though the media landscape inMoldova is not free from political interference and ownership of media outlets stronglyconcentrated in the hands of Oligarchie structures, there are still players that can make adifference.
10 Institute for Public Policy: Public Opinion Barometer 2017,http://ipp.md/old/libview.php?l=ro&idc=156&id=820.
gizOne of the active players in the field is the Centre for Investigative Journalists (CU) thatexists since 2003. It is focusing on corruption, organised crime, contraband, embezzlement,protectionism, corruption among state officials, illegal assets of public servants, humantrafficking etc. The CU investigations are published in 16 national and local newspapers.There is a high need to further increase the capacities of investigative journalists in the fieldsrelevant to the Implementation of the NIAS, regarding the high- risk sectors.
Due to a high concentration of the advertising market, which is the main source of financingof private media outlets, there is little prospect for the independent media to develop, unlessconcerns of abuse of dominance would be addressed at the legislative level in a moresystemic way. Nonetheless, the local media including online Services is an importantcounterpart of this Action, which can address important Information deficits among citizensand contribute to mobilisation and raising awareness on aspects of integrity, fight againstcorruption and civic engagement at local level.
2.4.3 Private sector involvement
Private business is an important player in promoting integrity and anti-corruption. It is avaluable partner of anti-corruption action, especially in the field of public procurement. Inaddition to this, the NIAS highlights the issue of conflict of interests when civil servants quitOffice and join Companies of the private business sector. Other topics of interest are themaladministration and abuse of competences in the areas of public procurement,privatisation and concessions of public private partnerships. The current state of play inMoldova requires the promotion of fair and honest business practice, development ofcompliance, code of conduct and enhancement of transparency of the private business in itsrelations with the state.
The Moldovan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) has so far played a significant rolein civil anti-corruption activities and elaborated several Strategie approaches which can beused for the purposes of the Programme. Other business associations, such as the ForeignInvestors Association (FIA) and European Business Association (EBA) also promote integrityand anti-corruption by implementing integrity measurement and internal control mechanismsat corporate level.
3 Logic of the Action
3.1 Overall Approach
This Action contributes to the implementation of the Agenda 2030. It contributes primarily tothe achievement of the SDG Goal 16 on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies forsustainable development and providing access to justice for all and build effective,accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels and more specifically to the Goal 16.5 onsubstantially reducing corruption and bribery in all their forms. At the same time, thisProgramme directly contributes to the "20 Deliverables for 2020" under the EasternPartnership and more specifically to the Deliverable No. 9 in the field of the rule of law andanti-corruption.
The Action thereby builds on the experience and results of multiple previous interventions inthe field of anti-corruption and anti-money laundering in the Republic of Moldova. The widespread endemic corruption at all levels in the country, including recent high-level corruptioncases under Investigation in the Republic of Moldova and cases with an internationaldimension (Laundromat case), and the continuous consultations with relevant stakeholderspoint at the need for a more robust and sector-wide approach in anti-corruption.
For the first time in the history of the Republic of Moldova, a new sector-wide NationalIntegrity and Anti-Corruption Strategy (NIAS) and an Action Plan were adopted on 31
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gizMay 2017, involving all relevant institutions. A step in the implementation of the Strategy wastaken with the elaboration of at least 7 sectorial anti-corruption plans and several mainpillars, one of which is the justice sector. The NIAS has also put in place a 3-tier monitoringmechanism for transparency and accountability. The monitoring mechanism includes 3separate monitoring groups that are chaired by top level officials.
NAC is in the lead to implement the NIAS. However, regarding the CSC liaison with NAC,there appears to be an attitude of distrust on both sides. NAC has been given the nationalresponsibility to promote corruption prevention strategies throughout the country. ThisProgramme will make it a priority to bring the two sides together to facilitate a workingrelationship for the benefit of the country as a whole.
Previous projects also revealed that a right balance between support to centraladministration and support at the local level can overcome some of the volatilities in the anti-corruption work and strengthen bottom-up oversight mechanisms. This is one of the mainreasons to propose this holistic approach and have a coherent and targeted support to keyinstitutions to influence the whole sector and fester inter-agency Cooperation. Therefore, theproject will work on three main pathways:
1. Raising awareness of citizens and civil society on the harm of corruption as well as onapproaches to reduce corruption. The project will activate citizens for effective anti-corruption initiatives to develop zero tolerance against corruption among Moldovancitizens;
2. Strengthening anti-corruption mechanisms by enhancing the capacity, accountabilityand transparency of specialized state anti-corruption institutions, improving their inter-institutional coordination, communication and Cooperation and intensifying their dialoguewith civil society;
3. Supporting the implementation of the National Integrity and Anti-CorruptionStrategy 2017-2020 in at least three high-risk sectors of corruption and in one of themain pillars such as the justice sector, along with the adoption and the beginning of theimplementation of the next anti-corruption strategy (see complementary action taken byUNDP and others under section 4.5). Both NAC and civil society actors will be partnersin this field of action.
3.2 Objectives and Expected Results
The overall objective of this Action is to contribute to the prevention and fight againstcorruption.
Specific Objectives (SO) of this Programme are:
501 To develop a zero tolerance against corruption among citizens.
502 To strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of anti-corruption mechanismsincluding the Investigation and prosecution mechanisms, the asset recovery functions,the declaration of assets and of conflict of interest and the prevention of corruption.
Expected results (Outputs) of this project are:
R1. The level of citizens activity, especially at local level, in the prevention and fightagainst corruption, and the awareness of citizens on the harms of corruption and onthe ways to fight corruption have increased;
R2 The institutional and operational capacities of the existing specialisedinvestigation and prosecutors bodies have increased in order to assure an efficientand effective prevention and fight against corruption and money laundering;
gizR3 The national criminal asset recovery System is fully in place and has a progressive
track record for identification, freezing, management and confiscation of criminalassets;
R4 Effective Systems of declaration of assets and conflict of Interests are fullyimplemented;
R5 Measures for the effective prevention of corruption risks, (which were identified inthree high-risk sectors), are strengthened based on the results of the Sectorial ActionPlans (NIAS).
Result 1 and 5 thereby support the achievement of Specific Objective 1 while Result 2, 3 and4 support the achievement of Specific Objective 2.
4 Design of the Action and Programme Management
The project will aim at tackling corruption in a coherent and sustainable manner through twopaths: a number of activities will aim at raising the awareness of citizens, in particular on thelocal level, about the harm of corruption and hence contribute to the development of a zerotolerance against corruption among Moldovan citizens. Secondly, the project will providesupport to the effective and well-coordinated implementation of anti-corruption mechanisms.
4.1 Main Activities and Methodological Approach
To attain the above-mentioned overall and specific objectives as well as the expectedresults, the project foresees activities and methodological approaches as outlined below:
Activities for the expected result 1:
1.1. Institutionalized mechanisms for citizens participation: Strengthening nationaland local CSOs and grass-root initiatives for womens and mens participation in anti-corruption measures; improving citizens monitoring capacities, by transfer ofexperience, knowledge and good practice from well-established national CSOs andinternational organizations;
1.2. Supporting locally-driven anti-corruption actions by grass-roots CSOscollaborating with other local actors (e.g. citizens’ councils, local councils, mayors,private enterprises, CCI etc.) with a focus on high-risk sectors (link to expected result5);
1.3. Creating or supporting monitoring mechanisms for implementation of current andfuture anti-corruption strategies and action plans, esp. in selected high-risk sectorsand in some pilot regions, e.g. Cahul and Ungheni;
1.4. Developing qualitative surveys as a part of an "Anti-Corruption Barometer",complementing existing indices and using new and innovative methodologies. Thisincludes anti-corruption mapping, organising participatory platforms and targetedsurveys, with particular attention given to gender-related aspects of corruption;
1.5. Facilitating the Organisation of local, regional and national awareness raisingcampaigns to promote integrity among citizens, highlight the risks andconsequences associated w th corrupt practice; where adequate usage of ICT-basedapproaches via social media, internet platforms, Interactive web applications forspreading Information and building opinion; engagement of opinion-makers (publicfigures speaking out against corruption);
1.6. Capacity building for investigative journalists, based on a needs assessment toincrease the quality of Investigation and reporting especially on anti-corruption andorganized crime topics;
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giz1.7. Supporting networking, team work and international contacts of investigative
journalists, building solidarity among them;
1.8. Measuring progress and impact of the activities supported by the Programme,and especially co-operation with monitoring groups in high-risk sectors.
Methodological approach for the expected result 1:
The Programme will mainly support the Implementation of the measures under result 1and 5 through a grant scheme for CSO activity.
Düring the inception phase, the Programme will, together with other internationalprogrammes, analyse the Situation of CSOs and their potential for anti-corruption activities inthe Capital and in the countryside (CSO mapping).
The set of action consists of public campaigns and other measures of awareness raising,public debates and discussions about Standards of behaviour and suitable and appropriateanti-corruption activities. The Programme will particularly consider actions in high-risksectors, using tools to promote integrity (e.g. parents associations and integrity councils atschools, essay contests on integrity, theatre plays for pupils and students) and workingtogether with the NIAS implementers and monitoring groups.
In coordination with the beneficiaries of the Programme, a comprehensive Communicationand Information Strategy will be elaborated during the first six months to structure theIntervention in view of the participation of regional and local actors and to enhance CSO andcitizens initiatives. On basis of the NIAS, it shall involve all stakeholders (specialized anti-corruption bodies, mayors, LPA and LCC, CSO) and be a comprehensive document of theProgramme, including visibility, communication, publication and prevention. The Programmewill seek to conclude Cooperation agreements on anti-corruption activities with the above-mentioned local actors, with a special view on women s Situation and rights. Those activitieswill be further promoted via existing anti-corruption mechanisms under the Government.
The Cooperation with CSOs will take into account other international donors and EU-fundedCSO actions. It will complement the strengthening of citizens grass-roots organizations byengaging them in anti-corruption activities and will join in the other internationalorganizations’ work of knowledge transfer from well-established CSOs to newly createdones. In doing so, the Action will always seek to preserve a (politically) neutral stance.Financial support (grants, subsidies etc.) will activate none state actors in the countryside.On the international level, the Programme may support networking with CSOs from othercountries to share experience, e.g. with the Civil Forum for Asset Recovery (CiFAR). Againstthe background of a further trend towards e-government and e-citizenship, new forms ofcivil society participation might play a role in the project implementation. Statistics ofInternet World Stats indicate a rather high penetration rate of internet users, over two-thirdsof the population.11 Keeping this in mind, social media could well be used for the purposes ofthe project. The project’s Communication and Information Strategy will take advantage ofnew technology and media for public surveys, public campaigns & awareness raising, as wellas Moldova’s existing and future commitment for OGP.
In a politically neutral way and only to the extent possible, the Programme will supportinvestigative journalism by targeted capacity development as well as national andinternational networking and peer-to-peer exchange formats. This could involve for examplethe National Centre for Investigative Journalism from Moldova, the Deutsche Welle fromGermany, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and/or journalistsgroups from other States, such as the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. Support forinvestigative journalism seeks to create solidarity, functional networks of knowledge sharing,peer-to-peer advice and Cooperation among journalists. The focus will be on capacity
11 Internet World Stats: 2,878,794 internet users in Dec, 2017, 71.2% penetration, per IWS.https://www.internetworldstats.eom/europa2.htm#md
gizbuilding to enable more journalists to investigate on crime and corruption. Topics will include,among others, investigative methods of data collection, international Standards and duediligence rules of journalism, legal knowledge including court reporting, special knowledge ofanti-corruption Instruments with an emphasis on high-risk sectors, team work, networkingwith colleagues and communication with specialized anti-corruption bodies. Reliable andevidence-based journalism contributes to the awareness raising and mobilization of citizensand to the accountability of public institutions likewise. Partially, journalists will be drawn intooutreach activities by the Programme.
Furthermore, the Action might also support the private sector with Solutions for complianceand integrity, where feasible. For example, support measures in this context could promotedigital Solutions such as The Integrity App. The app which was launched by the Alliance forIntegrity at the beginning of 2017, provides a one-stop-shop online platform whereCompanies can track their levels of compliance based on a questionnaire developed in linewith international Standards and receive an immediate Status report and recommendationson how to improve. Further, the platform is a reliable source of information, provides tools,workshops, and webinars and even offers consultations and implementation support. InCooperation with the Brazilian Ministry for Transparency and Comptroller General of theUnion (CGU), the Alliance for Integrity adapted The Integrity App for the public sector.Changes include a self-assessment tailored to the specific needs of the public sector and aset of targeted tools and resources. The app has over 1300 users and is available in English,Portuguese and Spanish. Düring the inception phase, it will be analysed whether it is feasibleto introduce the app to Moldova with a Romanian language Version. Similarly, theestablishment of a public information and discussion platform for citizens on public Servicedelivery will be tested, drawing from other countries good examples (e. g. JAGA AppIndonesia).
Activities for the expected result 2:
2.1. Accelerating and improving efficiency and effectiveness of ordinary and jointinvestigation and subsequent prosecution procedures:
a) Review of operating procedures: reviewing the procedures of ARO and PCCOCSin view of efficiency and effectiveness, exchange of information, ordinary and jointinvestigation and subsequent prosecution; reviewing procedural guidelines andelaborating practical recommendations;
b) Improving mobile operational capacities of specialised investigation andprosecutor's bodies through targeted supplies;
c) Gase analysis and elaboration of training modules: identifying and collectingtypical complex cases of investigation, prosecution and trial of crimes of corruption,as well as of serious commercial or organized crime generating considerableeconomic profit;
d) Accompanying and facilitating the work of International Joint InvestigationTeams, which are financed by EUROJUST, involving public prosecutors fromGermany and other European countries and working on important cases of anti-corruption in the legal framework of Art. 5402 CPC of Moldova;
e) Quality management, esp. for the public prosecutors Offices of APO andPCCOCS, and possibly other selected beneficiaries of the Action: conductingtraining needs analysis on additional topics such as management and leadership, ITand Software usage, statistics, reporting, communication, coordination andCooperation with other competent authorities and agencies related to criminal assetrecovery and information of the public;
gizf) Train the trainers: specialized classes for training of trainers and testing of cases in
view of further Professional qualification of investigators, prosecutors and judges;elaboration of trainers manuals for methodological and case-oriented training;
g) Establishing a mentorship program as part of a possible in-house training withinARO and PCCOCS (with involvement of NAC investigation officers);
h) Developing and testing inter-agency instruments, mechanisms and guidelines ofcommunication, coordination and Cooperation, to ensure swift and effectiveinvestigation of complex criminal cases; organize follow-ups and case monitoring;
i) Supporting international exchange of experience, esp. for investigators andpublic prosecutors
2.2. Increasing the visibility and accountability of the investigation and prosecutors bodies in prevention and fight against corruption: communication skills of PRdepartments or units / spokespersons enhanced
a) Conducting a needs assessment for the press and public relationsdepartments/officers of public prosecutor s Offices; in addition to this, conductinga survey on the experiences and expectations of the public;
b) Developing guidelines, communication tools and conducting training such asskills training of press Speakers of public prosecutor s Offices
c) Supporting regulär yearly reporting on activities and results of specialised anti-corruption and AML bodies, esp. APO/PCCOCS, and collecting public feedback.
2.3. Implementing internal safeguards against misconduct and disciplinary reviewmechanisms
a) Analysing the current internal misconduct and disciplinary reviewmechanisms available at APO, PCCOCS, ARO and possibly also otherbeneficiaries like specialized units of Mol and the police inspectorate andelaborating recommendations for proceedings and guidelines;
b) Developing training modules on ethics and disciplinary law, involving theNational Integrity Authority NIA and building on the work of the CLEP project;
c) Collecting cases of unethical or criminal behaviour within the justice sector;organizing internal discussion among colleagues within the specialized agenciesas well as Information of other public authorities and the public on Professionalrules and basic principles of ethics;
d) Qualifying internal units and the leadership for supervision and disciplinarysanctions
Methodological approach for the expected result 2:
The further capacity development of the specialized anti-corruption bodies will take asstarting points their track records so far and the outcomes of the relevant existinginternational programmes of the EU (esp. CLEP) and other donor organizations and theirfunctional analyses (see 4.5). For additional functional analyses, the inter-institutional Co¬operation, joint and parallel financial investigation, communication and data exchangebetween the various agencies will be in the focus to make complex investigative operationsmore pragmatic and result oriented.12 Thus, the approach will lay the emphasis on the dailyinterconnectedness, communication, coordination and Cooperation between APO,
12 The project will build upon the findings and recommendations of the EU funded twinning projectEnhancing the System of Prevention and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in
the Republic of Moldova" where a so called civil approach in criminal proceedings was s.
19,
gizPCCOCS, ARO, NAC and still other actors of the law enforcement and justice sector. Thiscan only be achieved by agreed mechanisms of coordination and Cooperation, and possiblyalso by common training sessions. Additionally, the project will support improving mobileoperational capacities of specialised Investigation and prosecutor's bodies through targetedsupplies.
Training capacities, including in-house-training (resp. functional training units of publicprosecution) shall be enhanced by activities of the Action through a case-basedmethodological approach. This means that cases will be analysed by representatives of thecompetent authorities themselves, anonymised, de-constructed and rewritten for commonand specialized training purposes (lessons learnt). External expert advice will help with themethodology of analysis and technical and pedagogical issues of this kind of training. Forthis work, the project will build on what the CLEP project has already done, and coordinatewith CLEP training Programme.
Thus, the Programme will partially rely on the analysis of APO and PCCOCS cases andstrengthen their in-house training capacities. However, the training modules and a train thetrainers Programme will be elaborated in a way that they may be further used by othertraining institutions later on. National and international advisors-practitioners will beintegrated into this process. For a complete case examination, the courts judgements willalso be analysed.13 Eventually, judges or prosecutors will be invited as experts to trainingsand programmes of train the trainers (ToT). Based on the training material created, on-the-job training involving international assistance could be enhanced by a mentorship program,led by senior Investigation and prosecution officers of Moldova. If a complex case appears tobe appropriate for international support, the project may support the creation of JointInvestigation Teams (see Art 5402 CPC) to help resolve complex cases involving publicprosecutors and investigators from European countries. The decision would be up to theMoldovan government. For this purpose, an agreement with the CRC will have to bereached, and funding by EUROJUST can be obtained at the amount of up to 50.000 EURwith each application (see EUROJUST: JIT Funding Guide 2018).
For organizational capacit building, case and quality management as well as statistics,the Programme will support Professional partnerships with specialized public prosecutors andinvestigating officers from neighbouring and other countries (e.g. via the RechtsstandortFiamburg / DiaLAWgue 14 or other European institutions). Besides Investigation andprosecution capacity building, quality management, skills training and change / conflictmanagement will be used to respond to the challenges of inter-institutional co-operationand joint and parallel financial investigations. Additional specialized skills training shallencompass public relations, press Speakers, dialogue with civil society and dealing withcomplaints. Leadership training will take up the issues of supervision of staff. Initial trainingsessions shall take up issues of ethics and disciplinary law as well.
The international dimension of anti-corruption, organized crime and money laundering willrequire Professional exchange and networking, travels to leading European actors and legaladvice by international experts, to complement Moldova s legal relations to other Statesand facilitate international co-operation in criminal matters and for the prevention of corruptpractice.
Activities for the expected result 3:
3.1. Strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness of the current criminal assetrecovery procedures (esp. increased number of parallel financial investigations(PFI) conducted by the specialised agencies related to criminal asset recovery)
13 The project will build upon the findings and recommendations of the EU funded twinning projectEnhancing the System of Prevention and Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in
the Republic of Moldova".14 http://www.rechtsstandort-hamburg.de/en/welcome/
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giza) Practical analysis: reviewing procedures and guidelines on parallel financial
investigations; updating the guidelines;
b) Training: assessing training needs, elaborating a concept for training andconducting training;
c) Data: Improving the internal databases of specialised agencies related to criminalasset recovery and increasing their level of interoperability and Connectivity to theexistent national databases;
d) Coordination: Supporting and promoting the coordination and Cooperation withinthe national asset recovery System and with other competent authorities,including the state fiscal Service, to improve the identification, seizure andconfiscation of illegal assets;
e) Supporting and promoting the international Cooperation with specialisedagencies related to criminal asset recovery, esp. in view of mutual assistance,with international institutions and other countries Offices.
3.2. Increasing the ratio of confiscated assets as a result of final court decisions
a) Practical analysis (see above at 2.a): reviewing the implementation of guidelineson the identification and seizure of assets; analysis of final court decisions;
b) Building pro-active and informal mechanism of Cooperation and coordinationbetween the specialised agencies related to criminal asset recovery and othercompetent authorities, including the public prosecutors and the state fiscalService;
c) Developing good practice on complex asset identification, seizure, confiscationand money laundering; translating this practice into improved training modules.
3.3. Providing institution building to specialised agencies related to criminal assetrecovery
a) Organizational development advice (see above 2.d): Reviewing casemanagement, electronic filing, data collection, statistics, reporting and elaboratingrecommendations for organizational improvement;
b) Offering an introduction into the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) forquality management and future cycles of self-assessment;
c) TNA and training on soft skills such as management and leadership,communication and coordination with other public authorities.
3.4. Promoting the gradual alignment with the European legislation and otherinternational Standards on illegal assets freezing and confiscation
a) Establishing an inter-institutional expert group on legislative issues andinternational co-operation on criminal asset recovery; supporting the group withexternal expert advice;
b) Facilitating international exchange of experience (working meetings, travelsabroad, expert opinions and possibly also regulatory impact assessment);
c) Supporting the transposition of the Directive 2014/42/EU with external legaladvice.
3.5. Supporting the implementation of international Standards, of recommendationsof international institutions (e.g. IMF, World Bank, FATF and others), of nationallegislation and criminal asset recovery action plans
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A
giza) Supporting the implementation of international and national
recommendations (e.g. of the MONEYVAL assessment) by external expertadvice, facilitation of monitoring and evaluation, reporting;
b) Supporting the implementation of legislation related to criminal asset recoveryby strengthening the national System and networking; eventually also purchaseand operationalization of IT applications and programs;
c) Elaborating publications on criminal asset recovery rules and theirimplementation, on prevention and educative material, with the involvement of allrelevant anti-corruption agencies, the state fiscal Service and National banks;
Methodological approach for the expected result 3:
The Programme will Start with analysing the institutional functions and staff capabilities,including the internal database, and continue with identifying training needs and assessingthe equipment. Taking into account the past contributions of CLEP and other internationalprojects, the Status quo of the ARO and other relevant agencies will be assessed anddiscussed with the leadership and the staff. The Programme will address Cooperation withinternational institutions and networks such as CARIN (Camden Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network) and international institutions such as Interpol, Europol, EUROJUST,UNODC etc. It will also help with suggesting and promoting more international mutualassistance agreements and informal and pro-active exchange of information.
Training will concentrate on skills and capabilities of new personnel. The reason is thatthe ARO is a relatively new structure, created in 2017, with newly employed personnel, butholding the complex mandate to identify, seize criminal assets and conduct parallel financialinvestigations, with insufficient international contacts and Instruments of Cooperation andmutual assistance available at its hand.
In addition to this, the project will analyse to what extent it is possible to support theimprovement of internal databases, interoperability of data and access to data toincrease effectiveness of investigations and prosecution. In this context, the project will assistARO in the Cooperation with ARO, PCCOCS and the newly created special division withinthe National Investigations Inspectorate of the Police and other relevant institutions. Finally,also the courts role will be taken into consideration. Generally speaking, the project will notbe able to finance larger parts of IT infrastructure and procure hardware and Software atlarge scale. However, the project will reserve an appropriate budget in order to be able toprovide targeted support in these areas, in case it is needed to sustain the action. In addition,the project will facilitate as far as possible the exchange of experience with other, similarlymandated agencies within Europe.
Special training modules will have to be elaborated to cover inter-agency co-operation andlet all actors of parallel financial Investigation and of prosecution participate. For example,judges appear to have training needs in forensic accounting. As it is the case with APO andPCCOCS, case and quality management will play a crucial role in the professionalization ofthe ARO. Monitoring and follow-ups by both ARO and FIU will be used for reporting andcase-based training. The aim of the approach is to facilitate the implementation ofinternational Standards, corresponding recommendations and European and nationallegislation. For these purposes, the Programme öfters external Professional advice andsupports continued partnerships with foreign asset recovery agencies.
Activities for the expected result 4:
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giz4.1. Enhancing the performance of NIA in the verification of asset declarations, the
Investigation of cases of conflict of interest and in the application of dissuasivesanctions for breach of the asset declaration and conflict of interest legislation
a) Based on the CLEP assessment of NIA s capacities and activities related to theverification of assets and personal interests declarations, and related to theapplication of dissuasive sanctions, the project continues strengthening of NIA,especially dealing with the review of citizens complaints against NIA decisions,ensuring the efficiency, quality and legal conformity of action taken by NIA andproviding legal remedy against the action;
b) Elaborating recommendations and guidelines for a proper and countrywideverification of assets, building on the assessment and the working results anddocuments of the CLEP Programme, and implementing the guidelines;
c) Supporting NIA with necessary training and equipment based on the needsassessment conclusions; in case of need, facilitating the search and employmentof integrity officers;
d) Providing further technical assistance, including targeted supplies where relevant,for the Implementation of an effective System of declaration of assets and conflictof interests;
e) Improving the level of interoperability and Connectivity of the NIA to the existentnational databases through organizational advice and training, and thusfacilitating a swift access to sources of data and information; putting an emphasison access to banking data, facilitating memoranda of Cooperation withcommercial banks and the use of electronic signatures;
f) Supporting international Cooperation in exchange of data and experience, esp.also with respect to personal assets in other jurisdictions.
4.2. Increasing the awareness of public servants to accurately declare on time theirassets and personal interests
a) Supporting NIA public information on rules and ethics, procedural steps for theaccurate Submission of personal assets and interests declarations;
b) Supporting NIA training for public officials, particularly at local level.
4.3. Improving the public perception of the mandate and performance of the NIA
a) Organising information campaigns, including media clips and public meetings,on the activity of NIA, its mandate, purpose and obtained results (according to theCommunication and Information Strategy as suggested above under result 1);
b) b) Measuring the impact of the work of NIA and surveying public perception ofits work, based on state reports, findings of NIAS monitoring groups and results ofthe Anti-corruption Barometer.
4.4. Improving the management qualities of NIA
a) Offering introductory and advanced training on the Common AssessmentFramework (CAF) for quality management;
b) Supporting the implementation of quality management cycles by internationalexpert advice.
4.5. Strengthening the Cooperation between CSOs, NIA and other centralspecialised institutions acting on preventing corruption such as the StateFiscal Service
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giza) In connection with results 1 and 5, granting support to NIA-Ied actions for the
prevention of corruption at local and regional levels and for the execution of NIAresponsibilities underthe NIAS;
b) Facilitating NIA Cooperation with other relevant state institutions and civilsociety on integrity and Standards of corruption prevention.
Methodological approach for the expected result 4:
Bearing in mind that the NIA is a relatively new Organization (see above 2.3 f) our assistancewill initially be targeted at the capacity development in view of its core functions. Specialattention will be drawn to the sequencing with former and ongoing activities of the CLEPprogram s assistance to the NIA. First, the System of asset declaration will have to beestablished countrywide, with a focus on effectiveness, efficiency and adequate sanctioning.A second step will be to refine the analysis and verification procedures of assetdeclarations and personal interest, so that it will be operational to full extent, including regulärchecks and field visits. Thirdly, the Programme will help enhancing access to data fromnational entities and international co-operation. Finally, the Controlling and educationalfunction of the NIA towards Moldovan citizens and public officials shall be supported so thatmore people and target groups can be reached. Therefore, organizational advice by foreignexperts and quality management will play an equally important role as compared to trainingmeasures.
Since the public perception of the NIA and its activities appears to be crucial for its success,the Programme will deal with the NIA s public image as a Strategie question. TheProgramme will include NIA in public information campaigns and public dialogue. In addition,the Programme will conduct surveys on the public perception of actions related to NIA stask to enhance personal and institutional integrity (Anti-Corruption Barometer; andCommunication and Information Strategy, see above). Moreover, the Programme addressesthe question of citizens complaints against the NIA and start a long-term impactmonitoring.
Finally, for full functionality, more technical equipment may be necessary, depending on theinitial assessment of the institution s needs and subsequent IT plans, e.g. to raise the level ofinteroperability and Connectivity of the NIA with other databases and enable a fast-trackreview. While the project will not be able to fully finance IT infrastructure, to perform theprocurement of hardware and/or Software or to replace a twinning project with acorresponding authority of another country, it will nevertheless provide targeted support inthese areas and facilitate as far as possible the exchange of experience with other, similarlytasked agencies within Europe.
Activities for the expected result 5:
5.1. Increasing public awareness of key Problems and possible anti-corruptionSolutions in selected high-risk sectors such as education, health, procurement(predominantly in the private sector) and agriculture and food.
a) Supporting state-led information campaigns and similar actions of civil society inselected high-risk sectors to increase awareness of citizens on the harms ofcorruption and ways to prevent corrupt practice;
b) Organizing state-society dialogue on risks of corruption, corruption preventionand targeted anti-corruption education with the help of regional platforms fordiscussion, round tables, town hall meetings etc., paying attention to possibleoverlapping with measures of other international organizations;