The official who had 500,000 euros stashed away in drawers and bags, a Patek Philippe and Rolex watches told prosecutors he and his wife weren’t big spenders
Prosecutors seized 500,000 euros from the home of a state arms’ company manager as well as two luxury watches. Tiberiu Alexandru Pîrvu, the director of the Plopeni Mechanical Plant (UM Plopeni) has been charged with bribery.
The cash was hidden in bags, envelopes and drawers, prosecutors said. Photos published by anti-corruption prosecutors showed some euros in plastic bags, and separate stashes of euros and dollars as well as the watches (see below).The Bucharest Court later placed Pîrvu placed under house arrest for 30 days.
Pîrvu was detained late Thursday and is charged with three acts of bribery. The company’s commercial director, Liliana Sorescu, Mihai Rafiu, director of the Bucharest branch of the company, and a businessman are also charged in the same case.
In statements given to the investigators, Pîrvu claimed that “he and his wife don’t spend a lot of money which is how they saved (so much) money,” prosecutors told G4Media. Investigators also found a Range Rover car in the garage.
In a press release, anti-corruption prosecutors said that “between May and July 2026, ….. the defendant Pîrvu Tiberiu Alexandru, in his capacity as general manager of the Commercial Company “Uzina Mecanică Plopeni” – S.A., directly received the total amount of 25,900 lei from the defendant V.M.,in three installments, for fulfilling his job duties regarding the approval of orders and the making of payments related to the contracts with companies managed by the defendant V.M.”
Pîrvu has been UM Plopeni manager since 2023 and previously worked for 10 years at another state arms company which was subordinate to Romania’s official arms’ company, Romarm.
His began his career in 1985 at UM Plopeni as a worker, then a technician. Since 2007 he held managerial positions, first as commercial director and then general manager where his monthly salary was 16,000 lei (about 4,200 euros) according to his CV.
The Plopeni Mechanical Plant is an arms factory in Romania that operates as a subsidiary of Romarm. It was founded in 1937 under the name of Mărgineanca Factory, and was nationalized by the communists in 1947.
