Anticorruption Directorate Seeks to prosecute ex-Romanian PM Cîțu, health ministers over €1B COVID-19 vaccine procurement Scandal

On Thursday, the DNA prosecutors requested the lifting of immunity for the former Prime Minister Florin Cîțu and former Health Ministers Vlad Voiculescu and Ioana Mihăilă in the case concerning the procurement of anti-Covid vaccines, according to G4Media sources. The DNA issued a statement discussing the immunity lifting of three individuals, without naming them. As reported by G4Media.ro, the case was initiated following an ex officio notification by a DNA prosecutor.

The prosecutors maintain that „individuals from the Romanian Government” contracted a much larger number of vaccine doses (Pfizer and Moderna) between January and May 2021, while the number of eligible individuals for vaccination communicated by the Romanian state to the European Commission was 10.7 million. In January 2021, the Prime Minister was Florin Cîțu (PNL), and the Health Ministers were Vlad Voiculescu followed by Ioana Mihăilă (both USR).

Prosecutors allege that the three government members purchased 52 million vaccines that were unnecessary, valued at over one billion euros, even though 37 million doses had already been contracted before January 1, 2021.

The DNA claims that the procurement was made „in violation of legal provisions and in the absence of any documents/analyses to attest to the necessity of the acquisition”.

The vaccine case is being handled by prosecutor George Adrian Matei, who secured the imprisonment of former PSD leader Liviu Dragnea in the fictitious employment case.

Florin Cîțu is now a senator, Vlad Voiculescu is the president of USR Bucharest and a candidate for the European Parliament (second on the list), and Ioana Mihăilă has left USR for REPER.

The DNA statement:

November 23, 2023, No. 1084/VIII/3 STATEMENT

In accordance with constitutional and legal provisions, the chief prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate has submitted the case report to the general prosecutor at the High Court of Cassation and Justice, for notifying the President of Romania and the Senate of Romania to formulate requests for the initiation of criminal prosecution against three individuals, for committing offenses of abuse of office with particularly severe consequences, with the form of penal participation being authorship and, respectively, complicity.

The request of the National Anticorruption Directorate for the initiation of criminal prosecution against the said individuals takes into account the circumstance that, at this moment, there is evidence resulting in a reasonable suspicion outlining the following state of facts:

On June 17, 2020, the European Commission launched the European strategy for the accelerated development, manufacturing, and distribution of vaccines against COVID-19, proposing a centralized approach for the acquisition of viable vaccine options, which involved the European Commission negotiating advance purchase agreements with vaccine producers on behalf of the member states.

The vaccines were to be distributed to EU member states based on population numbers, with the decision regarding the priority vaccination of certain population categories being left to the member states.

It is noteworthy that the member states had the option, within a 5-day notice period, to use an „opt-out” clause, so they were not obliged to bear any contribution for vaccines they chose not to request.

In the current case, within the aforementioned context, aspects are being investigated regarding the manner in which, during January – May 2021, individuals from the Romanian Government, in violation of legal provisions and in the absence of any documents/analyses to attest to the necessity of the acquisition, contracted a much larger number of vaccine doses (Pfizer and Moderna), while the number of individuals eligible for vaccination communicated by the Romanian state to the European Commission was 10.7 million.

Specifically, although the vaccine doses contracted before January 1, 2021 (37,588,366 doses) would have been sufficient to vaccinate over 23 million individuals, two of the three persons against whom the requests for initiating criminal prosecution are being made, with the assistance of the third, would have transacted and authorized the payment for the additional purchase of 52,805,690 vaccine doses, totaling 1,005,498,687 euros plus VAT, a sum constituting a loss to the state budget.

Attached to the submitted requests were the report prepared by the prosecutors within the National Anticorruption Directorate, as well as a copy of the criminal investigation file, consisting of 27 volumes.

These proceedings for the initiation of criminal prosecution fall under the provisions of articles 2941 and 305 paragraph (4) of the C.pr.pen., referring to the procedure regulated in Law No. 115/1999, republished, regarding ministerial responsibility.

The individuals against whom the notification of the President of Romania and the Senate of Romania for the formulation of requests for the initiation of criminal prosecution has been requested enjoy the presumption of innocence.

We specify that this statement was prepared in accordance with article 28 paragraph (1) of the Guide to Good Practices regarding the