The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) carried out on Tuesday five searches in Bucharest as part of an investigation into an EUR 8 million fraud with EU funds for the purchase of medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, the EPPO announced in a statement.In the period 2020 - 2022, a criminal network was formed to manipulate the public procurement of protective masks, disinfectants and other medical supplies for hospitals, schools and other municipal state facilities, so as to benefit predetermined suppliers, which are understood to have been part of the scheme. Three individuals under investigation have been brought to the EPPO's office in Bucharest to be informed of their status as suspects.The supply of the medical equipment was funded by the programme Recovery assistance for cohesion and the territories of Europe (REACT-EU). It is estimated that the activities documented so far in the investigation caused the EU budget a damage of over EUR 8 million. The investigation is ongoing, in order to ascertain the extent of the suspected criminal activities and the overall financial damage caused.The investigation and the searches are conducted with the support of the EPPO Support Structure in Romania, the Romanian Police - Special Operations Directorate, Romania's Anti-Corruption General Directorate, and the Special Intervention Brigade of the Romanian Gendarmerie.
The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) published its detailed ruling (motivation) on the magistrates’ pensions law on November 7. This should trigger the Government’s procedures for re-launching the law, according to statements by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and Social Democrat leader Sorin Grindeanu, who argue for different strategies. While PM Bolojan wants the same bill […]
Romania’s state-controlled electricity distribution and supply company Electrica (BVB: EL) has submitted a non-binding offer for the acquisition of Distribuție Energie Oltenia (DEO), the electricity distribution company controlled by the Macquarie investment fund, according to
The Government of Romania, through its seaport company Administratia Porturilor Maritime (CNAMP), is close to buying Moldova's largest port, Giurgiulesti (PILG), from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), announced Romania's Minister of Transport, Ciprian Șerban, speaking for
Bucharest’s Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History is now offering an audio guide in Ukrainian. The guide, made in a partnership with Ukraine’s Embassy to Romania, adds to the museum’s existing ones in Romanian, English, and Turkish. The project is part of an initiative started by Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, and rolled out in […]
The remains of Grigore Alexandru Ghica, a prince of Moldavia in the second half of the 19th century, have been brought back to Romania from France’s Le Mée-sur-Seine this past weekend. After lying in state at Cotroceni Palace, the headquarters of the Romanian Presidency, the coffin with his remains will travel to Focşani and Iaşi, […]
Representatives of the ruling Social Democratic Party, PSD, gathered for a congress in Bucharest on Friday, November 7, to elect new leadership and to amend the party’s Statute. The only candidate for party leader is Sorin Grindeanu, who held the interim position after Marcel Ciolacu's resignation in May. In his speech at the congress, Sorin […]
