Vice president of Romania’s National Medicines Agency held on bribery charges

Anticorruption prosecutors held Lazar Iordache, vice president of Romania's National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices, for 24 hours on Monday, August 22. They charged him with bribery and influence peddling. In April-June 2016, Iordache allegedly promised a person from the Health Ministry’s management 5% of the money the ministry allocated for two hospitals, according to DNA. On April 28, he gave RON 126,000 (EUR 28,000) to that person so he would exercise his influence over some other people within the ministry, so that the budgetary allocations would be signed. “The money Iordache Lazar promised and delivered came from the funds the Ministry of Health allocated for the two hospitals, for projects aimed at building a wastewater treatment plant and supplying medical equipment,” reads the DNA statement. Lazar Iordache might spend 30 days in jail if the court will approve DNA's request. The prosecutors haven't revealed yet who was the Health Ministry official who took the bribe from Iordache. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com