This week, the Prosecutor Vetting Commission commenced the hearings of prosecutors from the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS) as part of the external evaluation process. Valeriu Sîrbu and Ion Brînza were the first PCCOCS prosecutors to appear before the Commission, before Panel F and Panel E, respectively.

Hearing of Prosecutor Valeriu Sîrbu

Prosecutor Valeriu Sîrbu was scheduled to appear before the Commission on September 15 and 16, 2026. On September 7, 2026, Prosecutor Sîrbu requested that the hearing be conducted in a closed session. Panel F rejected the request by decision of September 10, 2026.

On September 14, 2026, the prosecutor submitted a renewed request, seeking a closed session specifically for the examination of the ethical integrity component. The Panel rejected the request on the same day.

The prosecutor subsequently challenged the Panel’s decision before the Superior Council of Prosecutors (SCP). Pursuant to Law No. 252/2023, the SCP is competent to rule on the appeal.

The hearing of Prosecutor Sîrbu was conducted over two sessions.

Part of the first session was held in closed session to protect the privacy of third parties. During the public portion of the hearing, Evaluation Panel F requested clarifications concerning:

  • cash holdings during the period from 2004 to 2007, relevant to establishing the source of savings accumulated at the beginning of the evaluation period;
  • discrepancies between declared income, assets and expenditures in several years covered by the evaluation;
  • repeated donations received from several relatives.

The second session was scheduled to examine the prosecutor’s ethical integrity. Although the Panel’s decision concerning the public nature of the session had been challenged before the SCP, the Panel informed the subject that the recording of the hearing would not be made public pending the SCP’s ruling on the appeal. The Panel also emphasized that members of the public would not be present at the session. Nevertheless, the subject declined to participate in the examination of the ethical integrity component.

The first part of Prosecutor Valeriu Sîrbu’s hearing is available here

The second part of Prosecutor Valeriu Sîrbu’s hearing is available here

Hearing of Prosecutor Ion Brînza

The hearing of Prosecutor Ion Brînza was conducted partially in public session.

During the public portion of the hearing, Evaluation Panel E addressed questions concerning the prosecutor’s alleged arbitrary conduct in the criminal case commonly referred to as the Petrenco Group case. The actions of the prosecution authorities in connection with that criminal case were examined by the European Court of Human Rights in Petrenco and Others v. the Republic of Moldova.

Two additional matters concerning alleged arbitrary acts in the context of criminal proceedings were examined in closed session to safeguard public order.

The hearing of Prosecutor Ion Brînza is available here