Accountant at Mărgineni Town Hall held after embezzlement of 400,000 lei through fictitious companies
A 35-year-old accountant from Neamț county has been held for 24 hours after allegedly illegally transferring 400,000 lei into her own private business account, disguising the payments through fictitious companies.
Held after diverting public funds through shell companies
A 35-year-old accountant employed at the Town Hall of Mărgineni commune in Neamț county was held by police on Thursday, accused of embezzlement and computer fraud, reports Cotidianul.ro. The estimated damage amounts to 400,000 lei, a sum transferred from the institution's funds directly to the account of a private business owned by the woman.
Searches were carried out both at the town hall headquarters and at the suspect's residence, as part of the national "Jupiter" operation, coordinated by the Neamț Criminal Investigation Service. "As a result of investigations conducted by police, it emerged that a 35-year-old woman, acting as accountant for an Administrative Territorial Unit in Neamț county, had unlawfully appropriated sums of money belonging to the institution, which she transferred to personal accounts, causing a loss of 400,000 lei," officials from the Neamț County Police Inspectorate stated, cited by News.ro.
Fraud mechanism discovered by mayor
The woman had been employed at Mărgineni Town Hall since August 2024. Initial suspicions arose in early spring, when the commune's mayor, Robert Mitrea, identified unjustified transactions in the financial records. "I noticed that payments were being made to companies I had never heard of, companies that appeared in the accounting documents as having provided services to the town hall. I realised something was not right and immediately convened a meeting. After the meeting I reported it to the police," Mitrea stated.
The investigation uncovered a systematic mechanism for diverting public funds. The sums were recorded in the town hall's accounts as payments owed to private economic agents for services or purchases. In reality, the money went directly to the accountant's private business account.
Company deregistered since 2017 used as cover
A central element of the fraudulent scheme: one of the companies used in supporting documents as the recipient of payments had been deregistered from official records since 2017. This method enabled the gradual transfer of the entire sum without the irregularities being immediately flagged in the current financial flow of the administrative-territorial unit.
Following the searches, officers recovered accounting documents, IT equipment and other items of evidence. The woman was taken for questioning, and at the conclusion of these interviews the investigating authorities ordered her held for 24 hours.
The investigation continues under the supervision of the prosecutor on the case, with a view to establishing the full extent of the criminal activity, recovering the loss caused to the local budget, and applying appropriate preventive measures.
Source: Cotidianul.ro