The report by the Ministry of Environment's Control Body, finalized in October, identified dozens of systemic issues at the National Meteorological Administration (ANM), and the institution's management was reportedly informed as early as November 2025 about potential irregularities in direct procurements, claims Interim Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu in a Facebook post.
"'I knew nothing. We conducted an audit in August 2026 and filed complaints with various authorities. Now, other authorities should handle the investigations.' That is what Ms. Mateescu, the head of the ANM, has been saying for days. Well, we at the Ministry of the Environment have just received an email that was sent from an anonymous account to ANM employees back in November of last year. That email explicitly mentioned direct procurements carried out in violation of current legislation. I repeat: November 2025. An email seen by ANM employees. Ms. Mateescu actually replied to that very email, telling all employees that everything was finethat there was no problem and it was all a lie," Diana Buzoianu wrote on her social media page on Wednesday.
She stated that in July, she dispatched the Control Body to the ANM following information received from whistleblowers, and that a few days after the inspection was announced, "a significant portion of the ANM's procurement department resigned en masse."
"The phones started ringing with inquiries as to why we had initiated this inspection. Ms. Mateescu quickly launched an audit, and in Augustright in the middle of the Ministry of Environment's inspectionshe suddenly discovered that what she had deemed 'in order' back in November 2025 might not actually be quite right. She then promptly filed a formal report with the authorities," the interim Environment Minister emphasized.
Buzoianu stated that such people have no place leading critical institutions.
"We finalized the Control Body's report in October. It identifies dozens of systemic issues. Ms. Mateescu claims she knew nothing about it. In my view, such people have no business leading critical institutions," the Environment official further wrote on his social media page.
On Saturday, the interim Minister of the Environment demanded the resignation of the leadership of the National Meteorological Administration after the Control Body identified purchases of perfumes, clothing, and other luxury items using the institution's budget, and announced that the audit report would be forwarded to the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and to the Court of Auditors.
A day later, Diana Buzoianu announced that, over the past four years, the ANM had made direct purchases worth millions of lei in violation of applicable legislation.
Subsequently, ANM Director General Elena Mateescu maintained that she had not used the institutional cardwhich had been declared "inactive since issuance"and that she had never approved any unlawful purchases.
Furthermore, the Director General of the ANM claimed to be the target of a campaign aimed at removing her from office for political reasons.
"The ANM and its staff do not deserve such a negative campaign. Through dialogue and solutions, the necessary measuresfrom which no one is exemptcan be identified," stated ANM Director General Elena Mateescu.
