The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has opened an investigation into a major fraud and corruption case involving public procurement of medical equipment in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to an official statement from the prosecutor’s office, the case concerns a contract valued at approximately €1.5 million. Representatives of a Romanian company that won a tender to supply medical equipment to the Brașov County Emergency Clinical Hospital (Spitalul Clinic Județean de Urgență Brașov) are named as suspects in the case.
Investigators suspect that company employees offered bribes to hospital officials in order to influence the terms of the tender. According to the prosecutor’s office, the technical requirements and competition criteria were artificially tailored in favour of the specific company, enabling it to win the procurement contract.
“The available evidence points to a possible collusion between company representatives and public officials with the aim of illegally obtaining an advantage in the public procurement procedure,” the European Public Prosecutor’s Office stated.
Investigative measures are currently underway, including searches and interrogations. The names of the suspects have not yet been disclosed. If found guilty, they face serious criminal penalties for fraud involving European funds, bribery of public officials, and abuse of office.
This is not the first case that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has investigated in Romania in connection with violations in the procurement of medical equipment and protective supplies during the pandemic. The EPPO has previously opened several similar proceedings, identifying systemic issues in the use of European funds in the country.
The investigation is ongoing.