October 7 (SeeNews) - Moldovan president Maia Sandu said she has named Dumitru Robu interim prosecutor general after his predecessor was detained on corruption charges.
Robu is also a deputy chief prosecutor at Chisinau Prosecutor's Office, according to the press release issued by the president's office on Wednesday evening.
Former prosecutor general Alexandr Stoianoglo was detained for 72 hours on Tuesday by officers of Moldova's Information and Security Service, SIS. Stoianoglo's office was searched by the SIS, and his deputies have been suspended.
According to local TV station TV8, anti-corruption prosecutor Victor Furtuna appointed to investigate Stoianoglo's actions, has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor general for his alleged involvement in transactions related to the $1 billion (860 million euro) theft from the national banking system in 2014.
In a short statement broadcast by TV8, Stoianglo accussed pro-European president Maia Sandu of 'settling scores' by ordering his arrest.
In response, Maia Sandu said the decision was not hers.
"Yesterday's decision to analyze the notification concerning the prosecutor general belongs to the Superior Council of Prosecutors (CSP), and the decision to detain him belongs to the prosecutor appointed by the CSP," Sandu wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
On October 4, during a press briefing, Stoianoglo accused the governing Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) once led by Sandu of starting a campaign to discredit him in order to justify his dismissal.
Stoianoglo was appointed two years ago by former pro-Russian Socialist president Igor Dodon.
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