Romania’s anti-corruption prosecutors’ office on Friday said it was pursuing criminal charges against the director and 18 employees of the “Dr. Carol Davila” Central Military Hospital, involving the misuse of European funds.
Hospital director, Florentina Ioniță, has been placed under judicial control on a bail of 1 million lei.
The National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) said Dr. Ionita is facing charges of abuse of office (108 counts) and complicity in abuse of office (108 counts) with damages of 8.2 million lei.
The agency said 18 employees of the Central Military Hospital are also being prosecuted in this case.
Prosecutors say that Florentina Ioniță overstepped her role by approving a program on European funds. The program called ‘Provision of health services from prevention, early detection, diagnosis and early treatment of colorectal precancerous lesions” was carried out between 2020 and 2023.
Such documents legally should have been approved by the defense minister or the Chief of Defense Staff at that time.
“Within the selection procedure organized within the project financed from non-reimbursable external funds, the defendant Ioniță-Radu Florentina, in the aforementioned capacity, ordered the illegal hiring of experts on various functions related to the project, outside the organizational chart of the medical unit,” the DNA said.
Subsequently, after the approval of the documents within the project on European funds by Florentina Ioniță, she also signed the payment of salaries related to the project to 18 employees of the Military Hospital, to the tune of 4.5 million lei (the net value, the damage is calculated at the gross value – 8.5 million of the salaries).
Media reported that defense ministry personnel are not allowed to hold positions and earn salaries from different sources. As director of the Central Military Hospital, Florentina Ioniță, knowingly bypassed this rule, prosecutors said.
“In order to create an appearance of legality and to formally avoid a conflict of interest, in connection with the selection of the defendant Ioniță-Radu Florentina, she delegated suspect Ștefani Constantin to the position of employer, to carry out an individual part-time employment contract for the position of scientific director, held by the defendant within the respective European project”, the anti-corruption office said.
They say that Dr. Florentina Ioniță illegally occupied the position of scientific director in the EU-funded program and tried to cover up the fact.
Judicial sources told the Digi24.ro that Florentina Ionita did not actually carry out any scientific activity in the project, despite receiving a net salary of more than 211,000 lei.
“In carrying out these criminal steps, the defendant Ioniță-Radu Florentina benefited from the help of the other 18 suspects mentioned at the beginning of the press release, who would have drawn up and signed the individual timesheets, which were later used in order to order the payment of the salary rights related to the positions held within the project,” according to the official release.
Romania’s healthcare system is rife with bribery and corruption, a holdover from the communist era when salaries were very low. Romania finally raised salaries in the health sector in 2017, but the custom of offering ‘an envelope’ has continued.
Doctors and medical staff don’t necessarily demand bribes, but patients slip envelopes with money into medical gowns which have generous pockets.
The 18 suspects are: Colonel Constantin Ștefani, head of the Integrated Clinical Outpatient Clinic, accused of abuse of office and complicity in abuse of office.
Brigadier General Mariana Jinga, Deputy Director General of the Central Military Hospital; Colonel Dragoș-Constantin Glăvan, head of the Telemedicine Agency, and since 2025 deputy commander for staff issues within the Hospital; Colonel Daniel-Octavian Costache, primary physician in research and development at the Central Military Hospital; Colonel Raluca-Simona Costache, Head of the Endoscopy Laboratory; Captain Andrei-Ionuț Gavrilă, primary physician Gastroenterology; Captain Maria-Mirela Chirvase, Primary Care Physician in Gastroenterology; Colonel (r.) Petre-Sorin Berbec, military officer active between 2020 and 2023 at the Central Military Hospital; Colonel (r.) Oana-Magdalena Ciobanu, Head of the Public Relations Office at the Hospital; Colonel Ionel-Petruț Nuță, head of the Gastroenterology Department; Lieutenant – Colonel Lucian-Georges Eftimie, Head of the Pathological Anatomy Service; Colonel (r.) Ionuț Bazga, between 2020 and 2023 deputy commander for staff issues; Colonel Gheorghe Dumitrescu, Financial-Accounting Director; Colonel Lavinia-Diana Vasile, active military officer and head of the Human Resources Office at the Hospital; Colonel George Georgescu, between 2020 and 2022 head of the Legal Office, and later head of the Office of the General Legal Directorate; Captain Anca-Andreea Împăratu, active military officer at the Hospital’s procurement structure; Colonel Florin-Gabriel Bacioi, Head of the Pharmaceutical Section.
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