Anticorruption body publishes activity report
Romania’s National Anticorruption Directorate presents its first report after the closing of the EU Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.
Daniela Budu, 27.02.2024, 13:50
Prosecutors have rediscovered their “courage” to investigate big corruption cases, said the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate Marius Voineag as he presented this body’s activity report for 2023. He called on investigators to continue to show utmost professionalism, saying the costs of corruption for Romanian society are still unacceptably high. “Confidence” is the word that sums up the Directorate’s activity last year, Voineag also said, referring both to the confidence of the Directorate’s employees, which can be seen in their courage to investigate big corruption cases, and in the citizens’ confidence to report cases of corruption. Marius Voineag sums up the Directorate’s activity last year:
“We sought to achieve institutional consolidation by expanding human resources and succeeded in hiring 29 new prosecutors, apart from the confirmation of a further 23 prosecutors since the start of the year. 651 people were indicted in 2023 and there were more cases in which the persons indicted were also detained. We worked on 2,259 cases in 2023 compared to 2,087 in 2022.”
Despite social tensions and the concerns relating to the political context, the fight against corruption remains an absolute priority for the government, said justice minister Alina Gorghiu. She said the measures initiated last year reiterate her ministry’s commitment to provide effective and quality justice. Alina Gorghiu:
“I must note the efforts of the anticorruption prosecutors to implement precautionary measures and recover the losses resulting from criminal activity. You have taken measures in more than half of the cases and I would like to encourage you to continue in the direction of such significant results, especially in the context in which half of what is confiscated can be put back into society in the form of crime prevention, legal education and support for the victims of criminal activities.”
The president of the Constitutional Court Marian Enache also praised the work of the National Anticorruption Directorate:
“We must emphasise that the National Anticorruption Directorate played a major role in implementing the goal of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, a role it must continue to play in the context of the new, rule of law mechanism, in which corruption also occupies a central position.”
This year, given the election context, the National Anticorruption Directorate promises to show the same determination in combating corruption. According to its leadership, it aims to enhance institutional capacity with a focus on human resources policies, and the focus will be on big corruption cases and priority areas with an impact on citizens’ lives. (CM)
