Timisoara mayor, Nicolae Robu (also leader of the National Liberal Party Timis) is facing criminal charges in a file regarding the thermal rehabilitation for housing with European funds. Robu has been heard as a suspect at the National Anti-corruption Directorate office in Timisoara on Friday morning.
Robu is criminally investigated for abuse of office, for using forged documents to obtain European funds and forgery.
The deputy mayor of Timisoara, Dan Diaconu and the head of the Urban Direction within the city hall, Culita Chis, are also suspects in this case.
Judicial sources revealed that it is a case regarding the thermal rehabilitation of 65 blocks of flats in Timisoara.
Proiect C&A company owned by Cristian Palade has been commissioned by the Timisoara City Hall to conduct the rehabilitation works of the apartments during November-December 2012, although the contract was signed only in January 2013. Subsequently, the constructions company claimed that it had to carry out works of over EUR 250,000 based on a generic contract for EUR 15,000 where there were information about how many blocks will be rehabilitated. So, the company refused to sign any other estimates and the contract with the city hall was cancelled.
Timisoara City Hall filed some projects to obtain EU funds for the thermal rehabilitation of 65 blocks of flats, but the owner of the constructions company, Cristian Palade, claimed that the documents sent to obtain the funds had been forged by the employees of the city hall.
Palade sued the Timisoara City Hall and he won in a first court, with the city hall being compelled to pay him RON 990.754, plus VAT. Yet, the city hall challenged the ruling to the Timisoara Court of Appeal and won, so it didn’t pay any money to Palade after all.
DNA started to investigate this case in September last year.
Mayor Nicolae Robu is also prosecuted by DNA for abuse of office in another case related to the illegal sale of nationalized houses.