The government in Moldova has in recent years taken several steps to fight corruption, including law enforcement and institutional setups. The prosecution of officials who are involved in corruption has also increased in recent years. However, businesses consider corruption a serious problem for doing business, and the business environment continues to be one of the most challenging in the region.[1]
According to Transparency International, 37% of Moldovans report paying a bribe in 2010. One of the most perceived corrupt institutions is the police.
A large anti-corruption protest was held in Chișinău in September 2015 following a $1 billion (£655 million) bank fraud.[2]
An anti-corruption court was the subject of speculation in a 2020 think-tank paper sponsored by USAID.[3]
On 19 April 2021, the Council of Europe Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova 2021–2024 was signed in Strasbourg, France. It is an action plan which, among other things, aims to combat corruption in the country.[4]
On Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Moldova scored 42 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Moldova ranked 76th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[5] For comparison with worldwide scores, the average score was 43, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), and the worst score was 11 (ranked 180).[6] For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Eastern European and Central Asian countries was 53, the average score was 35 and the lowest score was 18.[7]
In March 2023 was announced the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Court of Moldova. According to President Maia Sandu the court was necessary in order to accede to the European Union.[8] The ACC was to be the focus of Parliamentary business from April 2023.[9] A white paper document was published in June 2023.[10] The IMF took notice in a March 2024 report.[11] The Council of Europe is involved.[12]