Archbishop of Tomis, His Eminence Teodosie, has been sent to trial for corruption. The case has been registered at the Court of Appeal in Constanta, Romania, with no trial date set yet.
Also Ilie Petre, a counselor within the Archbishopric, has also been sent to trial.
The prosecutors of the National Anticorruption Directorate - Constanta territorial service announced, at the beginning of December 2023, that they have ordered the start of the criminal investigation against the suspects Teodosie Petrescu, archbishop of Tomis, for influence peddling, and P.I., a counselor within the Archbishopric of Tomis, for complicity in influence peddling.
According to DNA, in July 2023, Archbishop Teodosie allegedly promised 160,000 lei to a businessman (a witness in the case). The amount represented 20% of the 800,000 lei, which the latter was supposed to obtain for the Archbishopric of Tomis, following the use of influence he claimed to have over decision-making officials within the Secretariat of State for Cults.
The other suspect also participated in that discussion, negotiating with the businessman the terms in which the respective "agreement" would be implemented.
According to the prosecutors, the sum of 800,000 lei was intended to be used for funding construction or renovation works of the religious units under the authority of the Archbishopric of Tomis.
The media investigation, which triggered the DNA investigation, was published on November 21.
In February, lawyer Adrian Cuculis, the defender of His Eminence Teodosie, Archbishop of Tomis, told journalists that the prosecutors do not have the original recordings, and the media outlet Recorder has deleted them.