Train inspectors under judicial supervision in CFR Călători fraud investigation in Romania

Prosecutors have placed 21 train inspectors from state railway operator CFR Călători under judicial supervision as part of an investigation into offenses including abuse of office, embezzlement, computer fraud, unauthorized system access, intellectual forgery, and fraud.

The case follows searches conducted at CFR Călători’s central office and multiple locations across Bucharest, Giurgiu, Teleorman, Brașov, Prahova, Ialomița, Slobozia, Constanța, and Buzău on Tuesday, March 25. Following these raids, 35 train inspectors were taken in for questioning, with 21 being detained for 24 hours and later placed under judicial control.

According to judicial sources quoted by the news agency Agerpres, between 2022 and 2023, several CFR Călători employees used company-issued tablets to access institutional databases outside of working hours and during their shifts, exceeding their authorized access. They allegedly blocked seat reservations on train cars they were assigned to, as well as on other carriages, preventing these seats from being sold through official ticketing channels.

Additionally, in the same period, some employees responsible for sleeper and couchette cars allegedly falsified student identification details in the XSell Mobile application to issue free travel tickets meant for students, which were then used by unauthorized individuals.

These actions misled CFR Călători officials into falsely reporting student travel numbers to the Railway Reform Authority. By presenting fabricated data, the company obtained reimbursements for tickets that were never actually used by students, causing financial losses for the Ministry of Transport.

The investigation does not target CFR management or Ministry of Transport officials, according to the sources.

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