Regional political figures in Neamț under scrutiny in large forest-law investigation
Authorities carried out dozens of raids on homes, firms and public offices in Neamț County as part of a broad probe into alleged forest-law violations involving local political actors.
On Tuesday, prosecutors from the General Prosecutor's Office conducted a series of raids across Neamț County, executing nine residential search warrants as part of a case investigating multiple forest-law offences. The probe, coordinated by the environmental crime unit of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, alleges crimes such as public-procurement fraud, abuse of office, falsification of documents and illegal timber extraction.
Judicial sources point to former forest-director Doru Gherghel and former county councilor Mircia Gorghiu as key political figures suspected of influencing contract awards to affiliated companies. Later the same day, a separate prosecutor in Târgu Neamț ordered 17 additional raids on homes, business sites and public offices, seeking documents, transport records and communication devices. The inquiry suggests that a small group of decision-makers used intermediaries to control timber-supply contracts, inflate contract values and illegally move wood beyond the amounts recorded in official forest-value plans.
Multiple law-enforcement agencies, including IGPR units, local police and the technical service of the anti-environmental crime office, collaborated on the operations. The raids aim to dismantle any institutional support mechanisms that may have facilitated the alleged illegal logging scheme.
Why it matters
The case could expose systemic corruption linking political officials to illegal logging and public-procurement fraud in Romania's forest sector.
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