EPPO investigates fraudulent public procurement of EUR 7 mln tugboats in Romania

On March 27, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, carried out 12 searches in an investigation against officials of the Galați Lower Danube River Administration (Administratia Fluvială a Dunării de Jos Galati – AFDJ) and the Romanian Naval Authority (Autoritatea Navală Română – ANR).

At issue is a suspected fraud relating to the procurement of two tugboats – powerful boats used for towing larger boats and ships – for the Lower Danube Delta under a contract worth some EUR 7 million.

The tender book was designed such as to favor a specific supplier, prosecutors argue.

It is alleged that “the public officials submitted inaccurate documents in order to finance the project. Although the boats were solely intended for river navigation, the suspects drew up the tendering specifications on the basis of the more restrictive technical characteristics and construction requirements specific to seagoing vessels. “

As a result, the type of vessels falling within the criteria of the tender specifications was very limited, which prevented other economic operators from participating in the tendering process, and ultimately favored only one applicant.

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