The chief prosecutor of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA), Crin Bologa, asked the Chamber of Deputies to lift the immunity of Adrian Chesnoiu, PSD deputy from Olt and Minister of Agriculture, whom the prosecutors accuse of abuse of office for an alleged rigging of some employment contests. More precisely, the anti-corruption prosecutors accuse Adrian Chesnoiu of abuse of office and instigation to allowing an unauthorized person to information that are not destined to be made public, in the view of obtaining undue benefits.
After the DNA’s announcement, Chesnoiu announced he is resigning from the position of Agriculture minister and that he is suspending himself from PSD. He claimed he had done no criminal or corruption deed and that he “had always carried out his activity with integrity and devotion”.
“I ask all deputies from all parties to vote for the lifting of parliamentary immunity, because I believe that we are all equal before the law and I want to be able to eliminate any potential suspicion! I am stepping down as Minister – I do not want to raise any suspicions about my government activity. I also suspend myself from the Social Democratic Party!“, he stated.
PSD retorted that “it will respect the decisions taken by Mr. Chesnoiu”, praising “his honorable conduct” to step down from all positions.
According to DNA, between February 9 and April 11, 2022, minister Chesnoiu determined a subordinate person, at that time a member of several examination commissions, to provide a colleague (a trusted person of the Minister) with some of the topics designed for the written tests within the contests to fill the vacancies for the positions of: first class counselor, head of service, deputy executive director and executive director of some county directorates.
“Those subjects subsequently reached four “approved” candidates, of which, following the written and oral tests, only three passed the respective competitions. At the direct intervention of the minister, in the case of one of the candidates, the members of the commission would have had to promote him in the conditions in which he had not obtained an adequate score. As a result of this approach, the person was appointed head of service, obtaining so far salary income amounting to 33,782 lei,” DNA argues.
Adrian Chesnoiu is Olt’s deputy in his first term and Minister of Agriculture since November 2021, when PSD joined the ruling government, along with PNL and UDMR.
Chesnoiu is the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Food Industry and Specific Services of the Chamber of Deputies. He is a graduate of the Police Academy, former director of the Agency for Financing Rural Investments (AFIR) and former deputy mayor of Caracal.
In 2017, the Dragnea regime placed him in charge of the Agency for the Financing of Rural Investments, where he was director general, although his studies did not justify such a position. Chesnoiu led the agency until May 2020, after which he was public administrator of the city of Caracal, deputy mayor of this locality and then deputy.