EXCLUSIVE: An investigation has been initiated by the Anticorruption Directorate into a 27 million euro procurement process in Sector 3, overseen by Robert Negoiță. Individuals closely associated with Sorina Docuz, an ally of Prime Minister Ciolacu, are implicated in the transaction. Chief Prosecutor Voineag confirmed that the case was opened at the start of the year.

The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) has initiated a criminal investigation related to a 27 million euro tender in Sector 3, overseen by Robert Negoiță. The contract was awarded to a company within the circle of Sorina Docuz, the former wife of the mayor and an associate of Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. In an interview with G4Media.ro, DNA Chief Prosecutor Marius Voineag disclosed that the case was registered at the start of the year and was self-initiated by the prosecutor from press reports, similar to the vaccine case. Voineag refrained from giving further details about the individuals under investigation, stating the inquiry is ongoing.

Excerpt from the G4Media interview with DNA Chief, Marius Voineag:

Reporter: In the vaccine case, we saw the case prosecutor self-initiate from press reports. Yet, the press and G4Media have written extensively about suspicious multimillion-euro tenders, like the 27 million euro tender in Sector 3, which seemed to have gone unnoticed.

Marius Voineag: We have an ongoing case.

Reporter: In Sector 3?

Marius Voineag: Yes, we have a case in progress.

Reporter: Can you provide details?

Marius Voineag: No. The case was opened, I believe, at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. We are very, very interested in everything that appears in the media, whether it’s called investigative journalism or public exposure journalism, what happened here. From our point of view, it helps us a lot to have ammunition in our investigations.

Reporter: Can you tell us who the investigation targets?

Marius Voineag: No, no. It’s an open case.

Context:

In November 2023, G4Media.ro revealed that a framework contract worth 133 million lei tendered by Sector 3 Municipality, led by Robert Negoiță, was about to be signed with a company from Buzău, which reported zero business turnover between 2014 and 2021, after winning a bidding process filled with questions.

To meet a key participation requirement, Gab Pavolux from Buzău had the backing of a construction company, whose owner and his wife were PSD financiers during the current presidency of Marcel Ciolacu. Documents and clues uncovered by G4Media.ro suggested that behind the small firm aiming for the Sector 3 money were members of two families – Docuz and Arghir –, close to the current mayor of Sector 3 and PSD president, Marcel Ciolacu.

Following G4Media.ro’s revelations, the deal fell through. Gab Pavolux SRL did not extend the validity of its bid for a 27 million euro tender organized by Sector 3 Municipality and was set to be disqualified.

However, the company still received about 250,000 euros from this contract through a direct award process, justified by the urgency of providing catering services for students who remained at school after hours, as indicated by an invoice on the Sector 3 Municipality website reviewed by G4Media.ro.

The information that Gab Pavolux did not extend the validity of its bid in the tender organized by Sector 3 Municipality was included in a decision dated December 27, 2023, by the National Council for Solving Complaints, posted on the public procurement portal on January 4, 2024.

The decision was made following a complaint by Ocean Indian, a competing company against Gab Pavolux and Titan Edilitara, in an attempt to win a 27 million euro contract awarded by Sector 3 Municipality to provide food for students who stay at educational institutions after hours, in an after-school program for four school years (2023-2027).

Sorina Stan Docuz is protected by PSD president, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, and is the former wife of Sector 3’s mayor, Robert Negoiță. His institution suspiciously rented a luxury restaurant, in which about 2 million euros had been invested, to Gab Pavolux, which was to become the „headquarters” of the company’s catering operations.

To fulfill one of the specifications in the tender document, Gab Pavolux, which reported zero turnover between 2014 and 2021 and has been officially owned since October 2022 by a Dubai model married to a cousin of Sorina Stan Docuz, had the support of a construction company whose owner financed PSD during Ciolacu’s presidency.

Following G4Media.ro’s coverage of this subject, the website and social media accounts of the Gab Pavolux catering business were shut down.