IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
March, 31st, 2021
No. 262/VIII/3
Press release
In the case covered by the press releases no. 690/VIII/3 from May 23rd, 2016 and no. 132/VIII/3 from February 15th, 2018, the prosecutors from the National Anticorruption Directorate – the Section for Combating the Offences Assimilated to Those of Corruption have sent to trial, without restriction of freedom, two former Presidents of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) and a commercial company. According to the evidence of the case, the two former Presidents allegedly abused their position in order to illegally conclude a series of addenda that would have allowed the awarding of some overvalued contracts, which allegedly caused a damage of over € 8 million to the detriment of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS). In exchange, these two people allegedly received sums of money either for their own benefit or for certain companies.
Thus, the following defendants have been sent to trial:
VASILE CIURCHEA who was, at the time the offences were committed, i.e. February 2007 - January 2009, a President of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) and who was charged with the offences of taking bribe and abuse of office if the civil servant obtained an undue benefit for himself/herself or for someone else. This offence was committed through repeated acts and activities (2 acts and activities).
POPESCU IRINEL who was, at the time the offences were committed, i.e. January - December 2009, a President of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) and who was charged with the offences of taking bribe and abuse of office if the civil servant obtained an undue benefit for himself/herself or for someone else. This offence was committed through repeated acts and activities (2 acts and activities).
The company HP ROMANIA SRL, having the new name Enterprise Services Romania SRL that was charged with the offence of complicity to abuse of office if the civil servant obtained an undue benefit for himself/herself or for someone else. The offence was committed through repeated acts and activities (4 acts and activities).
In this case, the prosecutors concluded a plea bargaining agreement with a defendant, who was at the time the offences were committed the General Director of HP Romania SRL and who had been charged with the offence of complicity to abuse of office if the civil servant obtained an undue benefit for himself/herself or for someone else. The offence was committed through repeated acts and activities (4 acts and activities, corresponding to the 4 concluded addenda).
The drawn up indictment and plea bargaining agreement show the following state of facts:
During 2007-2009, four addenda to a contract were concluded between the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) and HP Romania S.R.L. The object of the contract was the computerization of the institution. Through the four addenda, technical assistance services and on-site training for the Integrated Single Information System (SIUI) and for the software that ensures resource planning (ERP) were purchased.
It seems that the purchases had been made at overvalued prices, i.e. € 804/day-person in case of two of the addenda and € 760/day-person, in case of two other addenda.
The addenda in question had been allegedly signed consecutively, by the Presidents of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS), the defendant VASILE CIURCHEA, on October 29th 2007 and May 16th 2008 and the defendant POPESCU IRINEL on August 6th 2009 and November 18th 2009, outside any public procurement procedure as required by law and without stipulating in the initial contract the purchased services.
In this respect, the General Director of HP Romania, the co-defendant who has been sent to trial based on a plea bargaining agreement, had allegedly negotiated with the Presidents of the Presidents of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) the closing of the four addenda. The two Presidents accepted the overvalued and unsubstantiated offers made by HP Romania, although they knew that, in reality, the services would have been performed by another company (together with the subcontractors) at much lower prices (maximum € 500/day-person).
It seems that the interposition of the company HP Romania SRL led to an artificial increase in the price of the services, which caused a damage to the detriment of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) amounting to € 8,395,490, VAT included and HP obtained an undue benefit amounting to the same sum of money.
In exchange for concluding the addenda under the above mentioned conditions, the defendants Ciurchea Vasile and Popescu Irinel allegedly claimed, in their capacity as Presidents of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS), the remittance of some undue benefits, amounts that would subsequently be received in the accounts of the people indicated by the two defendants.
Thus:
- during July 2007 – March 2008, Ciurchea Vasile allegedly claimed from the representatives of HP Romania SRL and from the subcontracting company, the sum of € 60,000, as well as to conclude contracts with two commercial companies; subsequently, the subcontracting company allegedly transferred, via one of its partners, the amount of € 60,000 to the account indicated by Ciurchea Vasile (on October 28th 2008) and, at the same time, the subcontracting company in question allegedly concluded contracts with the two companies indicated by the defendant and based on these contracts, it made several payments, i.e. € 165,000 in the accounts of one of the two companies (during March 2008 - July 2008) and € 300,000 in the account of the other (during June - December 2008).
- during January – August 2009, Popescu Irinel allegedly claimed from the representatives of HP Romania and from the subcontracting company to conclude contracts with two commercial companies; subsequently, the subcontracting company allegedly concluded contracts with the two indicated companies and based on these contracts, it made several payments, i.e. the equivalent in RON of € 100,000 (during January – March 2010) to a company and the equivalent in RON of € 70,000 (during January – March 2010) to the second company.
As regards the defendant who was the General Director of HP Romania, with whom the anticorruption prosecutors concluded a plea bargaining agreement, he expressly stated, in the presence of his chosen lawyer, that he acknowledged having committed the offence, accepted the legal classification of the offence for which the criminal action had been launched and that he agreed with the manner and amount of the applied punishment, as well as with the form of execution thereof, respectively: - 2 years imprisonment with conditioned suspension of the execution, the probation period being of 4 years.
The National Health Insurance House (CNAS) lodged a civil application in this case for the sum of € 8,395,490.
The prosecutors ordered the seizing of the movable and immovable assets belonging to the defendants Ciurchea Vasile, Popescu Irinel and the company HP Romania (having the new name Enterprise Services Romania SRL).
The company deposited the sum of € 8,395,490 in order for the damage to be recovered, this sum being seized and transferred to the account of the National Agency for the Management of Seized Assets.
The two criminal investigation files containing the indictment and the plea bargaining agreement were sent for trial to the Bucharest Tribunal.
As regards the other suspects, employees of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS) investigated for having committed the offence of abuse of office if the civil servant obtained an undue benefit for himself/herself or for someone else, an offence committed through repeated acts and activities, the prosecutors have ordered the splitting of the case and the continuation of the investigation.
It should be mentioned that this stage of the criminal proceedings represents, according to the Criminal Procedure Code, the completion of the criminal investigation and the referral of the indictment and of the plea bargaining agreement to the court, for trial, a situation which cannot, under any circumstances infringe the principle of presumption of innocence.
It is worth mentioning that the present press release was drawn up according to article 28 paragraph 4 of the Guide of good practices regarding the relationship of the judicial system with the media, approved by the Decision no. 197/2019 of the Plenum of the Superior Council of Magistracy.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE