IMPARȚIALITATE·INTEGRITATE·EFICIENȚĂ
February, 2nd, 2015
No. 184/VIII/3
PRESS RELEASE
According to the legal and constitutional provisions, the Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate, Mrs. Laura Codruța Kövesi transmitted to the General Prosecutor of Romania the written report drafted by the anticorruption prosecutors, in order to notify the Chamber of Deputies to agree with the request for the start of the criminal investigation against UDREA ELENA GABRIELA, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, who at the time the facts were assumed to have been perpetrated, was acting as a Minister of Regional Development and Tourism.
The request for the start of the criminal investigation is related in this case for the perpetration of the following acts:
- abuse of office, with gaining undue benefits for himself or other;
- attempt to use false, inexact or incomplete documents or statements, for unlawfully obtaining of funds from the European Union budget;
- use of influence in order to receive undue benefits (art. 13 of the Law no. 78/2000).
The perpetrated acts are related to the assumed illegal assigning and using of funds from the patrimony of the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism (MDRT) in between 2010 – 2012.
The request for the start of the criminal investigation indicated that presently there data and clues leading to the reasonable suspicion describing the following state of facts:
The offence of abuse of office with regards to the closing by MDRT of a service providing contract for promotional services
On the 24th of June 2011, the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism assigned a contract in the total value of 10,175,168,44 ron, through which S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L. was expected to deliver promotional services for Romania during the events deployed during the organization of the International Professional Boxing Gala by the Romanian Boxing Federation. The method of assigning the contract was the negotiation without publishing a participation announcement, while the amount was expected to be reimbursed from European funds.
Based on this contract, on the 1st of February 2012, the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism paid the promotional services in the total value of 8,116,800 ron. The public funds were used through a method that was forbidden by law, respectively for financing a sport event organized by a trade company. The amount paid on the ground of the contract was entirely a prejudice caused to the patrimony of the minister.
The real objective of closing the contract was to provide the necessary funds for organising the above mentioned boxing gala, while the acquisition of advertising service represented only a formal justification, without any real need on behalf of the ministry, with the sole purpose of making the contract look legal.
Moreover, the contract was assigned by breaking the legal procedures of public procurement and services were purchased among the categories of eligible expenses for the European funds programs. These circumstances lead to the refusal to discount the amounts by the European funds management authority, so that, due to the faulty manner in which the public servants fulfilled their office duties, the amounts that were expected to be reimbursed from European funds were fully paid from the state budget.
During the criminal investigations performed so far, it was found that the most important contribution to the perpetration of these facts and the producing of the result belongs to the Minister of Minister of Regional Development and Tourism at that date, Udrea Elena Gabriela.
The administrated evidence indicate that the Udrea Elena Gabriela took the decision of organizing the gala as result of an informal conversation with Obreja Rudel, and determined the adopting of the normative papers that created the framework for financing the event. She also repeatedly requested her subordinated public servants to meet Rudel Obreja in order to identify solutions for closing the contract and participated to the establishment of the budget that was expected to be allocated by MDRT outside the framework regulated by the public procurement procedure.
It is noteworthy that Udrea Elena Gabriela was aware of the critical circumstances of the case and accepted the possibility that the result would be produced, taking into account that she was informed about the legal impediments, that she participated or determined the breaking of rules of closing the public procurement contracts regulated by the Government Decision no. 34/2006.
Taking into account that Lucian Bute was at that moment one of the most popular Romanian personalities, Udrea Elena Gabriela had a direct interest in organizing the Gala, in order to receive election benefits by associating the associating the image with that of the sportsman. Also, the acts caused an undue benefit to Obreja Rudel, who received public funds for organizing an event whose income was exclusively directed to him.
The perpetration of the facts was facilitated by the fact that Udrea Elena Gabriela could influence both the assignment of European funds, as well as their later use, taking into account that the activities of regional development and those of tourism were merged within the same ministry. Thus, the Management Authority of the Regional Operational Program that was functioning within MDRT approved the decisions to allocate funds for the projects, while the General Directorate for Tourism within the same minister was acting as a beneficiary for a component of the program and was spending the money thus allocated.
The offence of attempt to use false, inexact or incomplete documents or statements, for unlawfully obtaining of funds from the European Union budget
After executing the contract and making the payment, on the 16th of February 2012, the amount of 8,116,800 ron was included in the reimbursement request transmitted by the Touristic Development and Marketing Directorate within the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism to the Intermediate Body for Tourism (OIT), taking into account that this contract was part of the "Promotional touristic brand of Romania" project, that was expected to be financed on the ground of the funding decision 2007/07.07.2011, through POR 2007 – 2013, with grants provided by the European Fund of Regional Development. The above mentioned funding decision was approved on the ground of funding request on behalf of the Touristic Promotional Directorate within the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism signed by the general secretary of the Ministry, on behalf of the Minister Udrea Elena Gabriela.
The reimbursement request for the amount of 8,116,800 ron includes inaccurate statements, while the real purpose of using the funds – organizing a boxing gala – was not among the categories of eligible expenses, while the organizer was not the Romanian Boxing Federation, circumstances known by the authors of the request.
The result was not produced, and the European funds were not stolen, because the Management Authority ordered to suspend the solving of the request as result of the notification of the criminal prosecution organs.
The data and evidence of the case indicate that these facts were also perpetrated following the request of the Minister of Regional Development and Tourism, Udrea Elena Gabriela, who was aware of the critical circumstances of the case and who accepted the possibility of producing the result.
The offence of use of influence in order to receive undue benefits with regards to S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L acquire a banking credit
There are data and evidence that Udrea Elena Gabriela would have used her influence derivated from her Minister and vice-president position of the governing party upon a decision making representative from a banking institution and upon the general secretary of the minister, in order to convince them to practice their office duties in a manner that allows the company S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L acquire a banking credit.
The amount thus received is classified as undue benefit, because the loan was granted as emergency in more advantageous conditions as those provisioned by the crediting norms of the bank. The company would have not been able to receive these benefits without the Minister interceding with the bank representatives.
On the 29th of June 2011, five days after the contract was closed with S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L, MDRT issued an official letter to communicate the bank the previous acceptance that they will pay directly to the bank the amounts owed to the company S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L., by executing the services contract. The official letter was signed by the general secretary of the Ministry that indicated that they acted following a request of Minister Udrea Elena Gabriela and that the Ministry has never issued such official letters in order to guarantee the credits of trade companies.
On the 30th of June 2011 the crediting contract of S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L. was closed, with regards to the granting of a short term credit for the amount of 10,175,168 RON "for funding the expenses related to the services contract 232/24.06.2011 closed between the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism and S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L." The credit was expected to be paid back after 3 months, but the settling date was extended in different stages for 60, 30 and another 30 days up to the 27th of January 2012.
Under the circumstances of MDRT later approving for payment only the amount of 8,116,800 ron, a significant part of the credit was left uncovered. This lead to several conversations among the representatives of the credit institutions, that were requesting the payment of the entire amount indicated in the contract, as well as the employees of the public institutions, who stated that they can only pay for the services that were received. The loan was partially reimbursed on the 2nd of February 2012, with the payment of the amount of 8,116,800 ron by MDRT.
The difference was paid by S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L. on the 8th of February 2012 by using funds coming from another company that also received them based on a public procurement contract financed as emergency by the Ministry of Regional Development and Transport that was assigned to the representatives of the Lupeni municipality by breaking the legal provisions. Reasonable clues occur in this case related to the fact that the loan was not assigned under such circumstances, without Udrea Elena Gabriela interceding in this case.
Thus, the behavior of the representatives of the crediting institution was corroborated with the direct involvement of the Minister in issuing the official address from the 29th of June 2011 (that represented the main guarantee requested by the credit committee), as well MDRT’s role in assigning the funds to S.C. Europlus Computers S.R.L. and paid the loan difference.
The present criminal investigation request falls under the incidence of art. 305 paragraph 4 of the Penal Prosecution Code. As a matter of consequence, the person that was requested in the notification letter to the Chamber of Deputies in order to formulate the criminal investigation request benefit of the presumption of innocence.
THE INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE