Influence peddling – aiding. Money laundering – an advantage obtained from corruption offences. The offence provided by Article 12 letter b) of Law no. 78/2000 - aiding. The offence provided for under art. 407 para. 1 of the Criminal Code.

DREPT PENAL ŞI DREPT PROCESUAL PENAL

Abstract

The offence of the person who facilitates and supports the contact between the perpetrators of the correlative offences of influence peddling and influence purchasing, by the consistent intermediation of communications among the latter and the acceptance to return, to the smuggler of influence, a share of the price of the illegally traded influence, shall be deemed as aiding to the crime provided for under Article 291 para. 1 of the Criminal Code, even in the assumption that, in exchange for his contribution, the secondary participant would receive an amount of money. The element of remuneration of the accomplice does not legitimate, eo ipso, the characterization of his contribution as being specific to an author, as getting an advantage from his crime activity is not essentially and exclusively specific to the perpetrator, however, it may be pursued by any secondary participants. The dissimulation, by concluding a fictive agreement between two companies, of the illegal origin and of the circulation of any amount representing, actually, the price of the influence peddling and the return of which was previously accepted by the influence purchaser, shall represent he offence of money laundering, provided for under Article 29 para. 1 letter b) of Law no. 656/2002. The amount of money subject to the transfer shall be an advantage derived from the correlative offences of influence peddling and influence purchase, consumed by simply claiming, respectively, accepting the payment of an amount of money under the conditions provided for by the rules of incriminating these last offences. The offence of the person who, in the absence of a prior understanding, subsequently to the reception of the information not being intended for the advertising sent by another person for the purpose of obtaining a undue benefit, promises or offers the latter the support for attaining this goal, shall not represent aiding to the offence provided by Article 12 letter b) of Law no. 78/2000, as these factual actions are subsequent to the time of consummation of the offence committed by the perpetrator. The use of any information not intended for advertising shall be an immediate offence, which is consumed by simply disclosing or revealing the confidential information, for the purpose provided for by law, which means that the behaviour of the beneficiary of the information not intended for advertising to receive and use it, possibly, for the satisfaction of its own interest, shall not circumscribe to an aiding activity, of the essence of which his intervention is before or during committing the offence. The disclosure of any documents representing information classified as State secret by the person who knows it due to his job duties, committed by making available to other person the pictures of the respective documents, if the offence endangers national security, shall only represent the offence provided for under Article 407 para. 1 of the Criminal Code, as the disclosure naturally absorbs the action of holding the document by the perpetrator, outside his job duties.