Moldovan national offers bribe to Estonian border guards

TALLINN – The Viru County Court handed a conditional sentence to and expelled from Estonia a citizen of Moldova, who last Friday offered a bribe to border guards at the Narva border crossing point in northeastern Estonia.

On Sept. 22, a Moldovan citizen arrived at the Narva border crossing point and offered a bribe to the border guards to allow him to cross the border despite his lack of health insurance, spokespeople for the East Prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board told BNS.

The man had hidden two 20-euro bills among his documents and presented them as alternative health insurance. The man was arrested and taken to a detention center due to the bribe.

On Sunday, the court handed the man a conditional jail sentence of one year with a probation period of five years. In addition, the offered bribe was confiscated and the man has to pay 1,047 euros in court and procedural costs. As an additional punishment, the court handed him a five-year ban on entering Estonia. After the court session, the man was taken to the border, where his car had been left, and he was sent out of the country together with the car.