Romania's Interior Ministry buys Audi A4 cars, historical garages but does not use them

Romania’s Interior Ministry took over the garages built at the beginning of the last century and located near the Government’s building, the former Leonida garages, which were placed under the management of the Romanian Police, as well as a fleet of 38 Audi A4 cars. The Ministry paid EUR 1.3 million for the cars that should have accompanied the official motorcades. However, after the last year’s motorcade scandals and former Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea’s resignation, the cars have been of little use, according to an investigation by Hotnews.ro. In March this year, the former Culture Minister Vlad Alexandrescu announced that the Leonida garages could host a new concert venue in Bucharest, as the capital lacks a proper concert hall for the Enescu festival. The Ministry wanted to invest EUR 55 million in the project. However, Petre Toba, the current Interior Minister and the former head of the Police, declined the proposal, arguing that the garage had just entered a refurbishing process with public money and that the place hosted 40 special cars. The minister failed to mention that the cars were Audi A4. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Politia Romana on Facebook)