The black market of cigarettes reached 10.4% of the total of consumption, in May this year, up by 9.8% in March, shows a study made by the research company Novel.According to data released by JTI on Monday, this is the highest level of smuggling since January 2020. The survey reveals that cigarette smuggling in May 2024 saw the highest increase in the Northeast, up 5.2 percentage points to 26.5%, followed by the Southeast (+2.6 percentage points to 7.4%), In terms of the origin of black market products, Duty Free continues to account for the largest share (36.3%), followed by the Republic of Moldova (up 7.4 p.p. to 23.3%) and Bulgaria (22.1%, up 1.6 p.p.). At the same time, the information centralized on the stopcontrabanda.ro platform, from the beginning of the year to date, shows that the authorities have seized some 34 million smuggled cigarettes, 75% of which in the south of the country. Compared to other European countries, there is a clear correlation between accessibility and the black market, with the highest rates in Ireland at 24.4% and France at 32.4%, according to the published statistics. In terms of penalties, in the first five months of the year, the Romanian Border Police seized about 1.3 million packs of cigarettes worth over 30 million lei. "During the period under review, border guards seized 6,300 kg of loose tobacco and 52 kg of hookah tobacco," said the inspector general of the Border Police, Police Superintendent Cornel-Laurian Stoica. Tobacco companies, big taxpayers, pay more than 20 billion lei annually to the state budget in excise duties, VAT and other taxes and contributions.
Vaunt, a Romanian real estate technology platform, is expanding into the United States after surpassing 80 clients and a transaction portfolio of nearly EUR 860 million. The expansion targets New York and Miami specifically. “Vaunt is a platform that helps real estate developers manage the sales process from the moment they receive the building permit until […]
IVF clinic Embryos, majority-owned by investment firm Integral Capital Group, has acquired the Oradea-based Calla Infertility Diagnostic and Treatment Center. The move is part of the development strategy of the network Embryos, which started in 2025 with the opening of a clinic in Buzău and the acquisition of Adella Clinic in Sofia, Bulgaria. The turnover […]
Romania has 56 companies included in the 17th edition of the Coface CEE Top 500 ranking, which shows how the largest companies in the region are navigating the current business landscape. The country climbed two positions from last year but remains underrepresented. The companies are ranked by turnover, analyzing additional indicators such as workforce size, business […]
Romania's Instant Factoring announced its participation in a cross-border securitization transaction valued at up to EUR 30 million. The move, the company said, "opens a new stage of growth for both Romanian fintech and the alternative financing market in Romania and Spain." The transaction involved the establishment of a securitization fund - Instant Factoring 2025-I, […]
Meta Estate Trust, a holding company active in the real estate sector and listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) under the symbol MET, announced that it signed the mandate agreement with its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dan Petrișor. The appointment decision was made by the Board of Directors on October 31, and the […]
Former star coach Emerich Jenei, one for Romania's best, passed away on November 5, 2025, at the age of 88. He achieved the greatest performance of Romanian football: winning the European Champions Cup with Steaua București on May 7, 1986, in Seville, in the famous final against F.C. Barcelona. Emeric Alexandru Ienei (Imre Sándor Jenei) […]
