Romania: EPPO conducts searches in probe into €4 million hospital procurement fraud

(Luxembourg, 21 July 2026) – On behalf of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Bucharest (Romania), searches were conducted today at a hospital and at a county council in the region of Muntenia in an investigation into suspected procurement fraud and abuse of office. At issue is a project involving the purchase of medical equipment and supplies intended to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections, financed with €4 million under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

A total of seven house searches were conducted at companies, public authorities and at the residence of suspects to gather physical and electronic evidence.

According to the investigation, there are substantial grounds to believe that the project budget was artificially inflated through the manipulation of the estimated value of the equipment. More specifically, it was established that a significant number of quotations (close to 70) used to substantiate the project budget are not authentic.

The case was initially referred to the EPPO by the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA). Subsequently, OLAF submitted a notification report on suspected fraud and provided operational analysis in support of the investigation.

The searches and investigation are carried out with the assistance of the EPPO Support Structure in Romania, the Romanian Police – Special Operations Directorate (Poliția Română – Directia de Operatiuni Speciale), Economic Crime Investigation Service Cluj and Bucharest (I.P.J. Cluj, D.G.P.M.B. – Serviciul de Investigare a Criminalitatii Economice) and the Special Intervention Brigade of the Romanian Gendarmerie (Brigada Speciala de Interventie a Jandarmeriei Romane).

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent Romanian courts of law.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.