The Mayor of Mangalia, Cristian Radu, has been indicted by the prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate Constanța, in pre-trial detention, for bribery and money laundering, in a case where he is accused of receiving over 600,000 euros over three years in exchange for administrative favors.
The National Anticorruption Directorate also requests the extended confiscation of over 2 million lei, a sum that the mayor would not be able to justify from legal income.
According to investigators, Cristian Radu allegedly demanded and received, directly or through intermediaries, a total amount of 622,233 euros between 2022-2025, in connection with the issuance of urban planning documents, initiation of Local Council decisions, and other actions within his duties as mayor.
In the same case, an administrator of a company has been indicted, remaining at liberty, accused of bad-faith use of the company's assets.
The DNA alleges that some of the received sums were aimed at tolerating illegal commercial activities on the beaches of Mangalia and in the area of the Touristic Port, without being sanctioned by the Local Police. The money was also laundered through luxury purchases.
Other benefits included reducing the purchase price of a company's asset in exchange for transferring lease contracts for land in the Mangalia Touristic Port.
Money to turn a blind eye to irregularities
Investigators also state that the mayor requested money to stop Municipal inspections on constructions in the Neptun resort and for issuing a certificate attesting to the construction of a building without authorization in the Saturn resort.
Additionally, part of the obtained sums was allegedly concealed through the purchase, in 2023, of a hotel in the Cap Aurora resort.
Moreover, the DNA accuses Cristian Radu of instigating representatives of companies to buy, using the companies' funds, two BMW cars totaling over 940,000 lei, subsequently exclusively used by the mayor.
Prosecutors have placed a lien on several real estate properties belonging to the mayor and his wife and are requesting the maintenance of preventive measures. The case has been referred to the Constanța Tribunal for a decision on the continuation of detention and the requested extended confiscation.
Cristian Radu, Mayor of Mangalia since 2012, elected on the PNL lists, was arrested pre-trial at the end of August and suspended from office during the investigation.