The Foundation for the Defense of Citizens against State Abuses (FACIAS) has submitted a request to the Ministry of Finance, seeking clarification on the measures undertaken to recuperate the substantial sums of money paid in damages subsequent to legal proceedings lost by the National Road Infrastructure Administration Company (CNAIR). Over the past nine years, the Romanian state has expended in excess of 2.6 billion lei (€533 million) in compensation for legal actions initiated by construction companies. However, the Ministry of Finance has stated that it is unaware of the recovery status of these funds or the identity of the parties responsible for their recovery.
In the wake of the transparency initiatives concerning the utilisation of public funds, FACIAS petitioned for the disclosure of the sums disbursed from the state budget as a consequence of litigations unsuccessful in the hands of CNAIR. In the official response received by FACIAS, CNAIR disclosed that during the period 2015-2024, the Romanian state expended a total of 2,655,801,377.55 lei (equivalent to 533 million euros) as compensation.
It is evident that the legal proceedings initiated by construction companies involved in road and bridge construction were initiated due to contractual and administrative irregularities committed by CNAIR. It is noteworthy that the financial compensation allocated to construction companies was derived exclusively from the budget allocated by the Ministry of Finance, thereby implying that the financial burden was shouldered by the general populace in the form of taxes. Consequently, it can be deduced that the citizens have been compelled to bear the consequences of the errors committed by public officials, which were financed by their own tax contributions.
Confronted with this financial debacle, FACIAS has submitted a request to the Ministry of Finance for clarification on whether any legal recourse has been pursued against the individuals deemed responsible for the aforementioned losses. Furthermore, the request seeks to ascertain the amount of funds recovered from the total damages incurred, amounting to 2.6 billion lei, which were paid by public funds.
FACIAS observes that the state authorities have thus far been unable to provide satisfactory responses to these fundamental questions surrounding the recovery of damages. The Ministry of Finance has stated that it possesses no information regarding sums recovered, and that it lacks the authority to initiate legal action for damages against those responsible. This indicates a significant oversight on the part of the institution responsible for the management of the public budget, as it is unable to ascertain the parties responsible for the recovery of the losses incurred and whether any measures have been taken to address the situation.
FACIAS considers the inaction on the part of the authorities in this matter to be unacceptable. The state is losing billions of lei of public money, yet no one has been held accountable and no steps have been taken to recover the damage. In this regard, FACIAS has submitted a request to the court to oblige the Ministry of Finance to publicly disclose who is legally responsible for recovering these sums and why no action has been taken so far.
FACIAS holds the conviction that the Romanians are entitled to information regarding the parties culpable for this immense misappropriation of public funds, as well as the rationale behind the Ministry of Finance's reticence to intervene in defence of taxpayers' interests.
This initiative forms part of the "Turn off the waste tap" campaign, which was initiated by FACIAS with a view to drawing attention to the considerable waste of public funds and to ensuring that the authorities are held accountable for the efficient management of public money.