The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Thursday issued further clarifications regarding the criminal case in which he is accused of smuggling in connection with the acquisition of a helicopter from the United Kingdom.
"In light of repeated requests for information regarding the criminal case concerning the alleged helicopter smuggling, I am issuing the following clarifications in my capacity as a person formally accused, in the exercise of my legitimate right of defence, as enshrined by law. This step has been taken in consultation with my lawyers and in no way constitutes an affront to the justice system or to the activity of the judicial authorities, with whom I reaffirm my full willingness to cooperate. Following the official communication of the charges, I formally requested clarifications regarding the factual circumstances. I was informed that all aspects relating to the conditions under which the helicopter was taken over had been the subject of official communications with the General Directorate of Customs and National Agency for Fiscal Administration, both before and after it was taken over by the General Inspectorate of Aviation. Explicit guidance was requested regarding the applicable procedure, including customs procedures, and all steps were carried out in full compliance with the instructions of the competent authorities. Moreover, this information was officially communicated to the criminal investigation bodies as early as 2021-2022. In support of the above, I attach images of the relevant correspondence," Arafat wrote in a message posted on Facebook.
In his view, the activities were carried out transparently, in direct consultation with state authorities, and therefore the formulation of smuggling accusations "is not only unfounded, but inherently contradictory".
"By definition, smuggling involves clandestine activity. To speak of an alleged 'smuggling' carried out through official correspondence and with the involvement of state institutions amounts to a clear distortion of reality and of the meaning of the law. What is being presented as a criminal offence takes on, absurdly, the form of 'smuggling in favour of the state' - a veritable 'altruistic smuggling', a concept that has nothing in common with the rationale of criminal law. Furthermore, it must also be borne in mind that, according to the decision to close the case issued by the National Anticorruption Directorate, suspicions regarding the existence of bribery or abuse of office were dismissed, which makes it all the more difficult to understand the persistence of an accusatory construction that ignores the conclusions already reached in the previous criminal assessment. This artificial construction of accusations can only be interpreted as the result of bad-faith reasoning, in which known and documented facts are deliberately disregarded," Arafat added.
He stated that the helicopter was brought into the country in 2017, at a time when the General Inspectorate of Aviation was not fully under his coordination.
"Moreover, the administrative aspects invoked in the case did not fall under my coordination at that time, coming within my remit only from 2020, following amendments introduced by emergency ordinance. It should also be clearly stated that, under the applicable legal framework, insurance contracts, policies, payment orders and other documents relating to such procedures are not signed by a secretary of state. These procedures are carried out at the level of the General Inspectorate of Aviation, in accordance with the competences established by current legislation. Under these circumstances, regardless of the factual situation or any legal interpretation that might be advanced, my inclusion in such a construction of liability appears exaggerated and lacking any real basis," Arafat said.
He further argued that the case is an attempt to discredit him "at any cost".
"Therefore, placing me within a framework of alleged criminal liability for administrative activities relating to a period when these were not under my coordination, and which did not fall within my direct authority to sign or approve, has no factual basis. Inevitably, the conclusion is that the aim is not to establish legal liability based on concrete facts, but to discredit me at any cost, both personally and professionally, as well as the activity of the Department for Emergency Situations, on the basis of predetermined accusations. Such an approach goes beyond the limits of an objective investigation and raises serious questions regarding respect for the principles of legality, proportionality and good faith. I am confident, however, that an objective and responsible analysis of all existing documents will lead to a swift clarification of the situation and the restoration of the truth," Arafat concluded, attaching several documents related to the helicopter acquisition.
Raed Arafat was summoned on Tuesday to the Military Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Military Court of Appeal, where he was informed that he is under criminal investigation for smuggling, in a case concerning the acquisition of a helicopter from the United Kingdom with the alleged evasion of VAT payment.
In total, 17 individuals are being investigated for the offence of smuggling, in the form of co-perpetration, complicity and incitement.
According to investigators, on 2 June 2016, a helicopter belonging to the General Inspectorate of Aviation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on a SMURD mission in the Republic of Moldova, crashed near the locality of Haragis. The accident resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and the death of the four people on board.
In the process of settling the insurance claim under the "CASCO - all risks - insurance of helicopters", the insurer could either pay the General Inspectorate of Aviation the sum of 23,343,667 lei (equivalent to 5,270,045 euros) or replace the destroyed helicopter with an aircraft of a reasonably similar configuration. The parties agreed that compensation would be made by replacing the destroyed helicopter with a similar aircraft, including with regard to the onboard medical equipment.
In November 2017, the General Inspectorate of Aviation took delivery of the new helicopter on the island of Guernsey - a territory belonging to the United Kingdom but outside the EU VAT area - and subsequently imported it into Romania. Its operation was only possible after completing customs formalities and paying or securing the related duties.
The investigation established that the aircraft was brought into the country and used without completing these formalities, resulting in damage to the state budget, representing VAT due at customs amounting to 4,435,269 lei.
"Therefore, a reasonable suspicion has emerged that the persons involved in the procedure for settling the damage allowed the insurer to discharge its compensation obligation arising from the insurance policy by replacing the helicopter destroyed on 2 June 2016 with another helicopter which did not acquire the status of Romanian goods, for which customs formalities were not carried out, customs clearance was not granted, and the duties due at customs, namely VAT in the amount of 4,435,269 lei, were not paid - a sum representing a loss to the state budget and, correspondingly, an undue benefit in the insurer's assets," the Prosecutor's Office said.
