Victor Pițurcă, detained by DNA

The former head coach of the national football team Victor Piţurcă was detained by the prosecutors of the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) in a file regarding the purchase of medical products during the pandemic, according to judiciary sources.

He was detained on Sunday evening for 24 hours.

Victor Pițurcă would be targeted by a corruption case regarding the purchase of masks for military hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a coach, Pițurcă, a former football player, trained the Steaua Bucharest, FC U Craiova, Romania Under 21, FCSB, the Romanian national team (in two mandates: 2004-2009, 2011-2014), Al-Ittihad and Craiova University.

The general director of Romarm, Gabriel Ţuţu, was also detained in this case.

Since December 2019, Gabriel Țuțu has been leading the national company Romarm, the main supplier of defense technology in Romania.

According to his CV, Țuțu was head of security at the Arcelor Mittal Steel Galăți iron and steel plant, but also an officer in the SRI, between 2003 and 2011. He also worked in the ministries of Communications and Tourism, as well as at the Romanian Lottery .

Media reports on Piturca’s company being involved in business with non-compliant masks

Libertatea wrote in February 2022 that PAV Green Energy, the company of Alexandru Pițurcă, the son of the former national coach, was involved in a business with non-compliant masks. The Ministry of Defense would have concluded the contract with Helios Dentserv, but 98% of the money would have gone to PAV Green Energy, Piţurcă jr.’s company. Thus, 100,000 FFP3 masks from this contract would have been distributed in the sanitary units of the MApN, and after four months it was discovered that they were non-compliant.

MApN sued Helios Dentserv, demanding its money back, but later the parties reconciled, Libertatea also wrote. A single mask had cost 28.69 lei. Double compared to the price obtained by Oradea City Hall, on the same date.