EU prosecutors charge Romanian officials over flawed river tugboat procurement

The European Public Prosecutor's Office in Cluj-Napoca has filed a case at the Iași Tribunal against four staff members of the Autonomous Administration of the Lower Danube River in Galați, a private individual and a company over a fraudulent procurement. The tender for two multifunctional ice-class tugboats was allegedly manipulated by adding technical specifications intended for sea vessels, despite the boats being intended for inland waterways.

This narrowed the pool of bidders and favored a single offer. Delivered in 2021, the tugboats have a draft of 2.6 metres, surpassing the contractually agreed maximum of two metres, rendering them ineffective during low-water periods on the Danube. The officials signed off on the delivery, falsely confirming compliance with the technical criteria.