As many as 68 employees of Romania's Interior Ministry (MAI) were placed in preventive detention in 2021, up 79% on the previous year, according to an activity report of the General Anti-Corruption Directorate (DGA) released on Thursday in the presence of Interior Minister Lucian Bode.
"In terms of preventive measures ordered, 182 persons (+ 43%) were placed on preventive detention (including house arrest), of which 68 MAI staff (+ 79%). As many as 255 MAI employees (+ 45%) were named suspects (176 for corruption and 79 for other misdeeds)," according to a DGA press statement released on Thursday.
At the same time, 178 MAI staff were indicted (+ 24%), 141 for corruption offences and 37 for other misdeeds, and another 668 persons outside MAI (+ 2%) were also investigated as defendants (491 for corruption and 177 for other misdeeds).
Regarding the prevention of corruption among the MAI staff, 4,434 anti-corruption information and training activities were carried out (up 128% from 2020), attended by 52,627 MAI employees (+ 103%), 9,313 managers and 43,314 subordinates.
"As a result of the preventive policies initiated and put into practice, 212 instances were recorded in which ministry officials notified the DGA when they were offered sums of money or other benefits in exchange for some services, or reported the involvement of some colleagues in corruption commission," the source shows.
At the same time, an annual report on the assessment of integrity incidents within MAI was drawn up.
"In 2021, 50 integrity incidents were reported and recorded, three more than in the previous year. At this point, we can highlight a decrease by 40% (from 185 to 111) in the number of MAI employees implicated in integrity incidents during the period under review."
In building up criminal cases under the direct coordination of prosecutors, 1,449 criminal notifications were recorded (up + 19% from 2020) that were submitted to prosecutor's offices.
In terms of the finality of procedural documents drawn up by the judicial police workers of DGA, case prosecutors issued indictments in 227 criminal cases, and 97 plea agreements were submitted to the courts (+ 3%).
The DGA judicial police officers enforced 604 search warrants, of which 187 regarded their own departments and 417 subordinate organisations.
Also in 2021, 97 sting operations were conducted that led to the detection of 114 law breakers. In addition, 253 training and guidance activities were carried out for members of the working groups for the prevention of corruption and for integrity advisers set up at MAI, in which 898 people participated.
The activities ended with corruption risk monitoring reports for 2020 being drawn up and updated corruption risk registers for 2021 being adopted.