Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova in North Rhine-Westphalia

A delegation from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova visits the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Cologne. Second person from the left: Ms. Veronica Dragalin, Head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova
A delegation from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova visits the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Cologne. Second person from the left: Ms. Veronica Dragalin, Head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova

Moldova

The aim of the visit by a delegation from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (APO) of the Republic of Moldova was to share expertise on German approaches to fighting corruption and to gain practical insights into the work of German judicial authorities. At the invitation of the IRZ, they travelled to North Rhine-Westphalia from 4 to 8 November 2020 to share best practices and experiences, strengthen the expertise of both sides and intensify cooperation at the international level.

The delegation, led by the head of the APO, Ms. Veronica Dragalin, discussed methods for identifying and seizing assets, cross-border asset recovery and the clarification of complex financial transactions with the department for economic crime and organized crime of the Cologne public prosecutor's office. During a meeting at the LKA Nordrhein-Westfalen, they received information on the role of the police in preventing and combating corruption and on cooperation with the public prosecutor's office.

The specialized public prosecutor's office for corruption in Wuppertal presented effective investigation strategies for prosecuting and convicting corruption offences to the Moldovan participants and discussed with them the challenges of collecting statistics and communicating successes in the fight against corruption. The specialized public prosecutor's office for economic crimes in Bochum then focused on cooperation in cross-border corruption cases and the formation of joint investigation teams.

The last day of the study trip began with a visit to the Cologne Office of the Public Prosecutor, where the focus was on record keeping, digitization and the collection of crime statistics. The trip concluded with a technical discussion with the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Cologne, which deals with investigations into fraud and tax evasion to the detriment of the European Union budget.


Consultancy on the development of a draft law on lobbying

The working group of the Moldovan parliament. Front row, center left: Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker (Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee in the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag and Member of the IRZ Board of Trustees) and in the middle, right: Veronica Roşca, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs
The working group of the Moldovan parliament. Front row, center left: Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker (Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee in the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag and Member of the IRZ Board of Trustees) and in the middle, right: Veronica Roşca, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs

Moldova

IRZ is advising a working group of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova on a draft law to regulate lobbying activities. In this context, expert talks were held in the German Bundestag, among other places, with a Moldovan delegation led by the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Veronica Roşca.

On November 8, 2024, the delegation exchanged views with the Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee in the German Bundestag, Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, Member of the Bundestag and member of the IRZ Board of Trustees, as well as Daniela Ludwig, Member of the Bundestag, the Chair of the Committee for the Scrutiny of Elections, Immunity and the Rules of Procedure and other committee members, among other things, about the German lobby register, the Code of Conduct for Members of the German Bundestag and further measures to ensure transparency in political decision-making processes. In addition, the board of the parliamentary group Bulgaria-Moldova-Romania received the Moldovan delegation. Discussions in the Berlin House of Representatives complemented the exchange of ideas with insights into lobbying regulation at the state level, thus providing a comprehensive insight into the transparency of political decision-making processes in Germany and important impetus for the development of a law to regulate lobbying in the Republic of Moldova.


Further training on the prison system and probation

Participants in the probation services workshop with Jörg Sprenger, director of the agency for criminal justice social work in Lower Saxony
Participants in the probation services workshop with Jörg Sprenger, director of the agency for criminal justice social work in Lower Saxony
Moldova

From 20 to 24 October 2020, the IRZ, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova, held practice-oriented workshops for specialists from the Moldovan justice and prison system in Chişinău. At the opening of the event, State Secretary Ruslan Lungu emphasised the importance of prison reform for the EU integration of the Republic of Moldova. In practice-oriented workshops led by Dr Arne Wieben, director of the Bremervörde prison, Jörg Sprenger, director of the agency for criminal justice social work in Lower Saxony, and Silvie Hawliczek, retired social services director, the participants were able to learn about new approaches and instruments for more effective prison and probation work.

One of the workshop's priorities was the introduction of an instrument for assessing the risk of reoffending and needs-oriented aftercare for the purpose of targeted prison planning that records individual risks of reoffending and takes into account the need for care. In addition, risk management in prison and in the probation service, as well as transition management between prison and probation, were presented. Special probation programmes from Lower Saxony for juvenile offenders and sex offenders were also discussed, which could also provide valuable impetus for practical work in Moldova. The workshop on psychological assessment and the creation of individual risk profiles was aimed at Moldovan prison psychologists. Using case studies from the Moldovan penal system, the participants were able to deepen their knowledge of risk profiling and diagnosis.

As part of the EU harmonisation process, cooperation between the IRZ and the Republic of Moldova will continue in order to support the comprehensive penal reform.