Romanian Public Finance official arrested for taking furniture for bribe

A former manager within the Satu Mare Public Finance Administration in Romania was arrested for 24 hours by prosecutors from Oradea National Anticorruption Department DNA for allegedly asking from company for furniture items as bribe, for both himself and his immediate manager. In return, he was supposed to protect the firm in case of possible fiscal controls, according to a DNA statement. Soos Istvan, former head of the Corporate Enforcement and Collection Office within the Satu Mare Public Finance Administration, is accused of complicity to taking bribes and money laundering. Between November and December 2013, as well as in March 2014, Istvan asked for several furniture items from a company, including sofas, a bedroom bed, mattress and pillows, based on an agreement with his manager Ioan Mircea Ardelean. The total value of these goods amounted to around RON 12,500 (some EUR 2,800). Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com