Mircea Beuran, a top Romanian surgeon and former health minister, was detained Thursday on suspicion of taking a 10,000 euro bribe.
The anti-corruption prosecutors’ agency said he took the alleged bribe in 2018 when he held a senior position in the Carol Davila Medicine and Pharmacy University in Bucharest.
Prosecutors said that Beuran, 66, accepted the kickback from a doctor at a Bucharest hospital in exchange for appointing him to a new teaching post in the general surgery department at the Carol Davila University. Prosecutors said the new post was never created.
The Bucharest court will rule Friday whether Beuran should be arrested for 30 days pending the investigation.
The National Anti-Corruption Directorate said the case was opened after the doctor who allegedly paid the bribe made a complaint.
Prosecutors searched Beuran’s home on Thursday and also his office at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital where they took away files and documents.
Following the search which lasted several hours, Beuran was taken to the prosecutors’ offices and was later detained for 24 hours.
Beuran was head of surgery at the Floreasca Hospital until he was dismissed last month after a woman died after she was set on fire during an operation.
Beuran was not in the operating room at the time, but was in charge of the operation.
Beuran was health minister from 2003 to 2004, who was forced to resign over accusations of plagiarism. Beuran also acted as an adviser to former President Ion Iliescu.
