The Foundation for the Defense of the Citizen Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has filed a complaint with the prosecuting authorities regarding the way the state keeps track of the amounts paid for accommodation and meals for Ukrainian refugees. The complaint was based on the fact that payments for Romanians providing accommodation and meals to refugees were made only on the basis of affidavits. This procedure does not provide any guarantees as to the accuracy of the information, and this, combined with the lack of strict controls, can easily lead to numerous offences. As anticipated, the situation according to official information is quite complicated.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has provided a response, stating that there are currently 102 criminal cases for various offences (fraud, embezzlement, illegal obtaining of funds, etc.) concerning offences committed in connection with the amounts paid for the food and accommodation of Ukrainian refugees. To date, only one such case has been completed. Moreover, payments made by the state are not even suspended while prosecutors investigate the suspicions.
In practice, we are talking about a total amount of more than 200 million RON, undeclared to ANAF, when there is no obligation to pay any tax. In January 2023, almost 110,000 refugees were still in Romania.
In view of all this, FACIAS has again asked the Public Prosecutor's Office to analyse the facts and act swiftly. In the meantime, we will monitor this case closely to see exactly how the state authorities are acting.