Vetting Commission again found no integrity issues with prosecutor Alexandru Cernei
Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Alexandru Cernei has no ethical or financial integrity issues. The Prosecutors Evaluation Commission again confirmed that Cernei meets the integrity criteria.
Alexandru Cernei, the prosecutor in the “Bank Fraud” case in which Vladimir Plahotniuc faces charges, appeared again for a hearing on Thursday, March 12.
Authorities launched the reevaluation after the Superior Council of Prosecutors rejected, on September 12, 2025, the commission's report recommending that Cernei pass the evaluation.
The council cited discrepancies in asset and personal interest declarations, particularly cash savings for 2018 and 2019 and financial flows for 2020.
The council stated that the Cernei family failed to declare about 500,000 lei in assets for 2018 and 2019. The prosecutor said the difference amounted to about 145,000 lei, slightly exceeding the legal limit.
After the review resumed, Panel B of the Vetting Commission gathered additional information and asked the prosecutor several questions.
“After reviewing the materials, the panel found no doubts about compliance with integrity criteria. In the absence of new circumstances, the commission will adopt an evaluation report that recommends passing the evaluation,” the Vetting Commission stated.
“Although I did not agree to extend the evaluation process by another six months, it gave us a chance to clarify the issues that led the council to reject the report,” said Alexandru Cernei, who has worked at the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office since 2014.
In his 2024 asset declaration, Cernei listed a house of nearly 134 square meters bought in 2020 and valued at 2.55 million lei, an 80.8 square meter apartment, a 65 square meter commercial space, a plot of land of almost six ares, and income of more than one million lei.
He also listed a Porsche Cayenne bought in 2024 for 1.5 million lei, registered to his wife’s company, and a Skoda Superb worth more than 25,000 euros that he uses.
Cernei also decided not to open a criminal investigation into the alleged illegal financing of the Party of Socialists with up to one million dollars per month. Authorities based the allegation on video footage from June 2019 that showed discussions between Igor Dodon, then president of Moldova, and Vladimir Plahotniuc.
In the order that refused to open the investigation, the June 7, 2019 discussion between Dodon and Plahotniuc, released during the political crisis in Chișinău, “did not appear serious,” and political opponents “provoked each other,” according to earlier reporting by ZdG.
Authorities later canceled the order signed by Cernei. The case known as the “kuliok” case now stands before the Supreme Court of Justice.
