The top three Romanian banks alone have over 2,000 units, while this case concerns only 16 bank units, the governor said. Information available so far shows that the organized crime group has rather emerged from outside the bank system, he added.
On Thursday, prosecutors searched the homes of 50 suspects and the headquarters of several firms in Bucharest, Ilfov, Calarasi and Giurgiu. The defendants are accused of having illegally obtained financing for equipment acquisition projects, through several firms controlled by the leaders of the organized crime group. They used false documents to obtain loans from 16 Romanian bank units and embezzled EUR22 million, prosecutors said.
The group was allegedly supported by Aurel Saramet, director of the National Fund Guaranteeing Loans for Small and Medium Enterprises, Cercel – Duca Alexandru Claudiu, vice-president of lender BRD-Groupe Societe Generale, Mihai Grigoroiu, recently appointed deputy manager with the Economy Ministry, Rosu Catalin Ionut and Atanasiu Andrei, employees of the Ministry of Economy, and Diaconescu Florian Dragos.
Prosecutors detained 33 people, including Cercel, and will call for the preventive one-month arrest of the suspects they detained.