State-owned medical supplies trader Unifarm made purchases without the Health Ministry's approval worth RON 1.5 bln (EUR 300 million), according to a report of the Court of Auditors, Mediafax reported.

The company's former manager Adrian Ionel says he made purchases in good faith, but the Court of Auditors says the company overpaid for the medical supplies it purchased.

Among the irregularities found was the acquisition of ventilators at prices eight times higher than they should have been and the sale, to hospitals, of sanitary masks with a margin of 71%.

Adrian Ionel stressed in an email that he sent his objections related to the report to the Court of Auditors on July 17. "I reiterate my complete innocence, and I am convinced that the proofs will show that I made acquisitions in good faith, under extremely difficult conditions for Romania," he stated.

In June, the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) started investigating the former Unifarm manager for bribery. The prosecutors accused Adrian Ionel of asking a EUR 760,000 bribe for a contract for the acquisition of protection equipment.

editor@romania-insider.com

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