Romanian deputy prime minister embroiled in scandal after one of his companies paid bribes to ANAF inspector

A scandal broke out on Friday, July 25, after it was made public that deputy prime minister Dragoș Anastasiu was a witness in an older corruption case involving one of his companies. The company, Eurolines, paid bribes for eight years to a financial inspector from Romania’s tax agency ANAF.

Update: Deputy prime minister Dragoș Anastasiu announced his resignation on July 27.

Records from the Anti-Corruption Directorate show that between 2009 and 2017, inspector Georgeta Angela Burlacu requested the signing of a fictitious consultancy contract with her son’s company, and Anastasiu’s company, the bus service Eurolines, paid her EUR 2,000 per month, totaling around EUR 150,000, according to Biziday.

Burlacu was indicted in 2018 and sentenced in 2023 to 5 years and 2 months in prison for bribery and influence peddling. Her son was not convicted.

Before the judges, Dragoș Anastasiu stated that “he perceived this proposal as a form of blackmail, but also as a form of protection in relation to ANAF,” being told that “everything will be fine.”

The deputy prime minister, who is now regarded as the spearhead in governmental cost-cutting efforts, reacted quickly after the news. “In the case, I was a witness, not a whistleblower. There was no action taken against me, and I had no legal advantage,” Anastasiu said.

The businessman also added that back then, the Romanian state pressured and even blackmailed companies, ‘recommending’ consultancy contracts with a firm offered up by the official to fix so-called irregularities discovered during audits.

“When, as an entrepreneur, you manage several companies that are themselves led by managers, it is impossible to have up-to-date and detailed information about all ongoing operations. But when you do have full information, you must act correctly and within the spirit of the law. That is what I did. I hope that more and more entrepreneurs will find the courage to never accept pressures like those many of us have been subjected to,” Anastasiu said on Facebook.

The government defended Anastasiu in a public press release, stating that he “did not have the status of whistleblower, suspect, defendant, or convict in the DNA case. His only status was that of a witness.”

(Photo source: gov.ro)