General manager of Romanian canned meat producer arrested in EU funds fraud

Gabriela Ciuburciu, the general manager of Romanian canned meat producer Vascar Vaslui, together with the former commercial manager and the company’s chief accountant, were taken into custody on Wednesday evening, July 2, being charged with EU funds fraud. According to prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Department DNA, the damage in this case amounts to some EUR 1.2 million. The Vaslui Court ordered preventive arrest of 30 days for Gabriela Ciuburciu, reports local Mediafax. According to the DNA statement, she is accused of using or presenting fake documents or statements, inaccurate or incomplete, which led to falsely obtaining funds from the general budget of the European Communities, or from budgets managed by them or in their behalf, with serious consequences. She is also accused of document forgery under private signature and money laundering. At the request of DNA prosecutors, magistrates from Vaslui court also issued preventive arrest warrants for Cepoi Iuliu, the former commercial manager of the company, and Susu Florina, the chief accountant. According to DNA, between 2008 and 2010, SC Vascar SA implemented a project financed with EU funds “for financial aid under the National Programme for Rural Development”, implemented on 24 months. The total eligible value of the project was RON 14.7 million, the equivalent of EUR 3.98 million. People from the company’s management, led by Gabriela Ciuburciu, with the help of Susu Florina, allegedly planned to fraud the development of this project “by simulating the legality of procurement procedures,” reads the prosecutors’ statement. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com