Military Prosecutors Conduct Raids at the Romanian Army’s Joint Logistics Command

On Friday morning, military prosecutors from the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) carried out searches at the Joint Logistics Command of the Romanian Army. The investigation targets Lieutenant General Cătălin Ștefăniță Zisu, the head of the Army’s Logistics Department, in a fraud case causing damages of over €2.4 million, according to G4media.ro.

According to G4Media, searches are also taking place at Hotel Haiducului, a military-owned hotel where General Cătălin Zisu resides. Simultaneously, as part of the same case, prosecutors are conducting raids at the homes of 21 other individuals suspected of being involved in the investigated offenses.

The investigation does not only target General Zisu, but also his son, amid suspicions of falsified construction work, Mediafax reports, citing judicial sources.

The case also involves allegations of abuse of office. General Zisu is suspected of awarding a contract for the expansion of the Ghencea Military Cemetery to Garden Center Grup, a company owned by businessman Ionel Olteanu. According to DNA prosecutors, costs were fraudulently inflated through fictitious excavation and landfill works, G4Media notes.

Lieutenant General Cătălin Zisu is one of the most influential commanders within the Romanian Army’s structures, overseeing the Logistics of the Ministry of National Defense (MApN). He obtained his PhD in 2006, reportedly with the support of General Gabriel Oprea, and was awarded his second general star in 2007 by then-President Traian Băsescu. He received his third star in 2011.

In August 2012, after becoming Romania’s Prime Minister, Victor Ponta appointed General Cătălin Ștefăniță Zisu as President of the National Administration of State Reserves and Special Issues, with the rank of Secretary of State.

The general’s name has surfaced in several high-profile business dealings since the 1990s, according to Mediafax. He was also accused by FCSB owner Gigi Becali of being behind the ban on his football team playing against Dinamo on Ghencea Stadium in the summer of 2023.

According to G4media.ro, General Zisu is close to General Nicolae Ciucă, the former Chief of the Romanian Army, and General Lucian Pahonțu, the head of the Protection and Guard Service (SPP). In fact, paparazzi captured photos of General Ciucă and General Zisu together in October 2024.