Decision No. 25/2 of 26 May 2026 Regarding the Request by Mr. Mihail Balaban for Access to Information

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA NATIONAL FINANCIAL MARKET COMMISSION 77 Stefan cel Mare si Sfant Blvd., Chisinau, MD 2012, tel: (373 22) 859 401, www.cnpf.md, e-mail: office@cnpf.md DECISION 26 May 2026 No. 25/2 Regarding the request submitted by Mr. Mihail Balaban, representative of Ms. Diana Manea, registered with the National Financial Market Commission under No. 3599 on 11.05.2026

On 11.05.2026, within the framework of the National Financial Market Commission (CNPF), the request regarding access to information (Request), submitted by Mr. Mihail Balaban, representative of Ms. Diana Manea (petitioner), was registered (under No. 3599), by which the issuance of the full (motivated) Decision No. 28/3 dated 09.06.2025 regarding the results of the thematic inspection conducted within OCN "MOGO LOANS" SRL (Decision No. 28/3/2025) was requested.

Formulated on the basis of Law No. 148/2023 on access to information of public interest (Law No. 148/2023), the Request shall be examined in light of the legal regime established by this law.

In this context, Article 13(3) of Law No. 148/2023 specifies that the provisions of the Administrative Code apply only to the extent that they do not contradict the requirements of the aforementioned law.

Accordingly, Law No. 148/2023 establishes a special term of 10 days, within which the administrative procedure for examining the request must be completed, which may be extended by an additional 7 days.

On the subject, by Order of the CNPF President No. 292 dated 20.05.2026 regarding the extension of the general term for examining and resolving the request submitted by Mr. Mihail Balaban, representative of Ms. Diana Manea, the term for resolving the Request was extended until 28.05.2026.

In law, in accordance with Article 13(1) and (2) of Law No. 148/2023, "(1) Any natural or legal person (hereinafter – applicant) has the right to request and obtain information of public interest under the conditions of the law, by submitting a request for communication of information of public interest (hereinafter – request). (2) Information providers are obliged to communicate the requested information of public interest, under the conditions of the law."

Subsequently, according to Article 24(1) and (3) of Law No. 148/2023, "(1) Communication of information of public interest is refused, in whole or in part, if the requested information constitutes information with limited accessibility according to Article 8. [...] (3) In the event that only part of the requested information constitutes information with limited accessibility, the information provider refuses partial communication of the information, in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), and is obliged to communicate the information to which access cannot be limited."

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On its part, Article 8(1) of Law No. 148/2023 stipulates that "(1) Access to information of public interest may be limited in accordance with the proportionality criterion provided for in Article 9 if the disclosure of the information will prejudice: a) public safety; b) international relations; c) prevention or detection of crimes or misdemeanors; d) carrying out criminal investigation; e) conducting administrative or judicial proceedings; f) protection of personal data; g) intellectual property rights; h) commercial secrecy."

In this case, it is necessary to mention that the petitioner requests the issuance of Decision No. 28/3/2025, which contains information regarding the contractual relationships of consumers, including credit contract numbers, which, in the sense of Law No. 133/2011 on the protection of personal data (Law No. 133/2011), constitute personal data, which are defined as "any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (subject of personal data). An identifiable person is a person who can be identified, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identification number or to one or more specific elements of their physical, physiological, psychological, economic, cultural or social identity;".

At the same time, Law No. 133/2011 establishes, in Article 29(1), the obligation of operators and third parties who have access to personal data to ensure the confidentiality of such data, except in cases where "a) the processing relates to data made public voluntarily and manifestly by the subject of personal data; b) the personal data have been depersonalized."

Correlatively, Decision No. 28/3/2025 contains data related to costs associated with the contracts subject to verification, which, in the sense of Law No. 384/2023 on the protection of commercial secrets, constitutes commercial secrecy, which is defined in Article 2 of this law, as "information that cumulatively meets the following requirements: a) it is secret in the sense that it is not, as a whole or as the elements thereof are presented or articulated, generally known or easily accessible to persons from circles that normally deal with the type of information in question; b) it has commercial value because it is secret; c) it has been the subject of reasonable measures, given the circumstances, taken by the person who legally controls the information in question, to keep it secret."

The same law regulates, in Article 4(3), that "The use or disclosure of a commercial secret is considered illegal whenever it is committed, without the consent of the holder of the commercial secret, by a person who meets any of the following conditions: a) acquired the commercial secret illegally; b) breaches a confidentiality agreement or any other obligation not to disclose the commercial secret; c) breaches a contractual or other obligation limiting the use of the commercial secret."

Based on the above, the full provision of Decision No. 28/3/2025 could prejudice the right to confidentiality of the personal data of the individuals concerned, as well as the commercial secrecy of OCN "MOGO LOANS" SRL.

Consequently, if the information constituting personal data and commercial secret is depersonalized or excluded, the operator, in this case, the CNPF, may provide it. In this context, it should be noted that the information requiring depersonalization is fully contained in the annexes to the Control Act, which prevents the provision of the complete documents.

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Subsequently, in the context of the certain identification in Decision No. 28/3/2025 of information with limited accessibility, provided for in Article 8(1) letters f) and h) and paragraph (2) of Law No. 148/2023, it is necessary to determine whether the public interest, in their disclosure, prevails over the protected interest.

Correspondingly, in accordance with Article 9 of Law No. 148/2023, "(1) In the case provided for in Article 8(1), access to information of public interest is limited only if the following cumulative conditions are met: a) the disclosure of the information will prejudice one of the legitimate purposes provided for in Article 8(1); b) the prejudice that will be caused by the disclosure of the information prevails over the public interest in accessing the information. (2) If the public interest in accessing the information prevails over the prejudice that will be caused by the disclosure of the information, providers are obliged to provide access to information of public interest. (3) Public interest prevails especially in the case of information whose disclosure will contribute to: a) disclosure of serious or mass violations of human rights and freedoms, as well as international humanitarian law; b) disclosure of acts of corruption or acts related thereto; c) disclosure of potential conflicts of interest; d) disclosure of illegal public procurement or of illegal expenditures from public budgets; e) prevention and disclosure of serious threats to life or health of persons; f) prevention and disclosure of damage to the environment; g) understanding of issues for which public policies are elaborated or public consultations are conducted; h) ensuring equal treatment before the law."

Thus, the public interest, which favors the disclosure of information, regardless of the prejudice caused to any interests established in Article 8(1) of Law No. 148/2023, must be understood in accordance with the position of the Constitutional Court, expressed in Decision No. 19/2015, according to which "Public interest is usually related to matters that affect the public to such an extent that they could be legitimately interested in them, which attract their attention or which affect them to a significant degree, especially if they affect the well-being of citizens or community life. It is also the case of matters capable of giving rise to considerable controversies, which concern an important social problem or which involve a problem regarding which the public will have an interest in being informed. Public interest cannot be reduced to the public's thirst for information about the private life of others or to the audience's desire for 'spicy' information or sensational news. In its jurisprudence, the Court has held that the right of access to information is an important instrument for quantifying abuses, administrative errors, corruption and for the implementation of fundamental human rights. The Court has attributed to the right to information a character of a national resource. Information held by public authorities and institutions is not collected or created for the benefit of these entities, but for the benefit of the public (see CC Decision No. 19 of 22 June 2015, §§ 71, 73; CC Decision No. 16 of 18 May 2016, § 50).".

Having analyzed the information with limited accessibility, identified by the criteria of public interest, enumerated in Article 9(3) of Law No. 148/2023, it is noted that there is no prevailing public interest in their disclosure, unlike the protected interest of the natural person and OCN "MOGO LOANS" SRL, under the legal conditions stated.

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Under these circumstances and in accordance with the mentioned provisions, it is concluded on the necessity of excluding the Control Act from the information provided to the petitioner, as it contains personal data of natural persons, including the credit contract numbers of OCN "MOGO LOANS" SRL clients, as well as information regarding the costs associated with the concluded contracts, which constitute commercial secrets.

From the considerations stated above, on the basis of Article 18(3), Article 20(1), paragraphs (6) and (7) and Article 22(3) of Law No. 192/1998 on the National Financial Market Commission, Article 8(1) letters f) and h) and paragraph (2), Article 9 and Article 24 of Law No. 148/2023 on access to information of public interest, Law No. 133/2011 on the protection of personal data, the Administrative Code and the Regulation on the organization and functioning of the National Financial Market Commission (CNPF Decision No. 57/11/2022),

The National Financial Market Commission DECIDES:

1. The request submitted by Mr. Mihail Balaban, representative of Ms. Diana Manea (registered with the CNPF under No. 3599 on 11.05.2026), is partially accepted, and the copy of CNPF Decision No. 28/3 dated 09.06.2025 regarding the results of the thematic inspection conducted within OCN "MOGO LOANS" SRL (is attached) is provided, with the exclusion of the Control Act.

2. The request mentioned in point 1 is partially refused, in part concerning the provision of information constituting personal data and commercial secrets.

3. This Decision may be contested with an action in administrative litigation, submitted to the Chisinau Court, Rascani seat (MD-2068, Chisinau, Kiev 3 St.), within 30 days from the date of its communication.

4. This Decision enters into force on the date of adoption, is communicated to the recipient in accordance with the legislation and is published on the official website of the CNPF (www.cnpf.md).

Dumitru BUDIANSCHI, PRESIDENT