Leader of Buzau County Council, Cristinel Bigiu and Florin Colgiu, his relative and president of the Liberal Youth organization were arrested on Sunday night for bribery. Bigiu has been previously detained for 24 hours after a six-hour hearing, with the charge of RON 120,000 bribery cashed in to assign a contract. Colgiu would have allegedly received the bribe by his relative Florin Colgiu. Bigiu joined the Social Democrat Party in September after he had been Liberal for 17 years. Bigiu was Colgiu’s godfather, the latter running Buzau Liberal Youth Organization. Right after his detention, the National Liberal Party announced that Colgiu was suspended from the party.
Buzau County Council leader Cristinel Bigiu was caught red-handed by anti-corruption prosecutors while he would have received RON 50,000 as a second tranche of the RON 120,000 total bribe.
According to the National Anti-corruption Direction’s evidence, Bigiu would have received the RON 50,000 bribe inside a whiskey box and Colgiu would have also received a part of the money. The money was paid by Dragos Cojocea, director within the County Council. Cojocea also gave Buzau County Council leader a RON 70,000 tranche.
DNA claims that during December 2013 and December 2014 Cristinel Bigiu asked one of the directors of the county council to move for initiating the direct acquisitions proceedings for the county’s 2014-2020 durable development Strategy. Precisely, Bigiu had asked his subordinate to divide the strategy project into three components so that the auction proceeding should be avoided and to identify certain companies that would falsely sign as being the executors of the projects. The director would pay Bigiu RON 200,000 as bribe and would recover the money from those companies which were falsely appearing as the projects’ executors.
According to his wealth statement, Cristinel Bigiu has four lands, two apartments, a house, a trade estate, but also seven investment funds worth RON 70,000.