itself at the heart of a political uproar that has seen defence
meetings suspended, the interior minister called a liar and the
head of the police force dismissed.
Ex-police chief Gheorghe Popa was deposed following the signing
of contracts with Romanian lessor Ager for the lease of – depending
on who you ask in the considerable media coverage of the scandal –
somewhere between 392 and 2,000 Dacia Logan ‘special vehicles’.
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Further uncertainty comes from the public release of the deal’s
tender on 9 October, which stated the final value of the deal as
more than €117 million including VAT.
While the specifics of the deal may remain occluded, it is clear
that Popa’s sacking was down to the suspiciously inflated cost of
the vehicles – each had more than €50,000 of equipment attached to
a €10,000 car.
Popa attempted to justify the procurement by citing the need for
high-tech equipment because of Romania’s impending entry into the
Schengen area.
This did not, however, stop Romanian president Traian Basescu
from suspending a meeting of the Romanian Supreme Defence Council
this week, citing the purchase as his reason.
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By GlobalDataALB, the Romanian Leasing Association, released a statement
expressing shock at the “attack” from public authorities on what
they called “a recognised financial product which is a leasing
contract under public procurement”.
ALB puts the political fuss down to electoral campaign
manoeuvring and described it as “very dangerous for the stability
and confidence in the financial system in Romania”, as well as the
functionality of public authorities.
The contracts with Ager have now been suspended as
investigations take place, although deputy police chief Gheorghe
Plai has admitted the possibility of legal action to come.
“In case Ager Leasing brings us to court, we will have to pay
damages to them,” Plai explained.
Fred Crawley
