The Director of the Romanian Road Authority (ARR), Cristian Anton, former chief of staff to Sorin Grindeanu when he led the Ministry of Transport, has been detained by DNA prosecutors in a corruption case following searches in Bucharest and Timișoara.
The investigation concerns suspicions of bribery, influence peddling, and the formation of an organized criminal group.
Investigators raided Cristian Anton's office at the Ministry of Transport headquarters, as well as his residences in Bucharest and Timișoara. In the initial checks, prosecutors found approximately 350,000 euros in cash.
Subsequently, as the searches continued, the total amount discovered would have exceeded 500,000 euros, according to sources cited by Profit.ro. Some of the money was reportedly hidden in cardboard boxes.
In total, anti-corruption prosecutors from DNA Cluj carried out 23 searches in Bucharest and the counties of Bacău, Dolj, Timiș, and Vâlcea, including at the headquarters of a public institution, in a case involving suspicions of corruption and the formation of an organized criminal group, as officially communicated by DNA.
Judicial sources cited by News.ro indicate that the investigation targets 12 individuals suspected of bribery, influence peddling, and disclosure of confidential information.
According to the same sources, the suspects allegedly received amounts ranging from 600 to 1,500 euros to facilitate the obtaining of the necessary certificates for professional freight transport drivers by violating legislation.
The investigation has been ongoing for some time, and the phenomenon is said to be widespread, not only in the capital but also in several counties, including Mehedinți and Arad.
Who is the head of ARR and Grindeanu's reaction
The head of ARR, Cristian Anton, served as the chief of staff to Sorin Grindeanu during the period when the PSD leader was Minister of Transport.
Asked about the DNA investigation during a press conference in Brașov, Grindeanu stated:
"I saw this morning. Whoever does not respect the law must pay. Personally, I wish for him to be innocent. But, I repeat, if someone makes a mistake, it doesn't matter if they were a chief of staff or minister. Whoever does not respect the law will pay."
According to Snoop.ro, Anton and Grindeanu have been close for two decades, when both were local councilors in Timișoara.
A lawyer by profession, Cristian Anton became the director of the legal department at the Romanian Road Authority in 2012. With Sorin Grindeanu's appointment as Minister of Transport in November 2021 in the Ciucă Government, Anton assumed the position of chief of staff.
During Anton's tenure in this position, his name also appeared in the bribery case for duty-free shops at Otopeni Airport in 2023, as reported by G4Media.
DNA prosecutors recorded a discussion in which the owner of Millenium company, Cătălin Lăscuţ, also known as the "king of duty-free shops," claimed to have had a conversation with Anton, whom he referred to as "my brother."
At that time, Sorin Grindeanu stated that he was unaware of his chief of staff's meeting with one of the defendants in the "Otopeni" case until the transcripts appeared in the press. The current leader of the PSD stated that after the transcripts were made public, he demanded explanations from Cristian Anton.