Two Romanian Waters Inspectors Arrested for 16,000 Lei Bribery in Olt County
Daniel Băviță and Constantin Alin Trușcă held for 30 days by DNA on bribery charges. Former Minister Diana Buzoianu accuses PSD of protecting illegal gravel pits.
Arrests at Romanian Waters: two inspectors investigated by DNA for 16,000 lei bribery
Daniel Băviță, head of the Basin Water Inspection Service at the Olt Basin Water Administration, and inspector Constantin Alin Trușcă have been placed under preventive arrest for 30 days, according to Cotidianul.ro. The two are being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate (DNA) for accepting bribes.
Prosecutors allege that on 12 August 2026, Băviță and Trușcă requested and received sums of 10,000 lei and 6,000 lei respectively from representatives of two companies from Brașov County that were carrying out mineral aggregate extraction and sorting activities. In exchange for the money, the two were to either refrain from issuing fines for the irregularities discovered or impose lighter sanctions.
Buzoianu: "Illegal gravel pits in Olt, covered up by people close to PSD"
Former Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu responded on Facebook to news of the arrests, launching direct accusations against the PSD. She claims that illegal gravel exploitation in Olt County was protected by individuals with political connections.
"Olt. The place where I showed how an illegal gravel pit spanning 75 hectares was never inspected by the inspectors there. A gravel pit that caused damage to the Romanian state of millions of lei," wrote the former minister.
Buzoianu directly targets Adrian Barbu, director of the Olt Water Management System, whom she accuses of having close ties to the PSD. According to her, Barbu was backed by the party for holding multiple public positions in recent years, and his father's company holds contracts financed with public money worth tens of millions of lei in Olt County.
"Surely this was not the only case of bribery to ensure that the inspectors from Olt would overlook things. And surely the two inspectors were not the only ones doing everything possible to cover up illegalities," Buzoianu stated.
The former minister expressed doubt that those responsible would end up being convicted: "Will there be, after 2 years, convictions for those who hid illegal gravel pits with damage of 20 million lei to the Romanian state?"
Inspectors who discovered irregularities left without control vehicles
Buzoianu also drew attention to the situation of inspectors at the Jiu Basin Water Administration, those who conducted inspections in Olt County and discovered illegal exploitation operations. These inspectors were reportedly left without the right to use service vehicles, as a result of a recent decision by the director of Jiu Basin Water Administration, Daniel Naicu, who also holds the position of PSD county councillor.
"All we know at this moment is that the inspectors from Jiu, those who discovered the illegal gravel pits in Olt, have just been left without control vehicles, by decision from a few days ago by the director from Jiu, Daniel Naicu – also known as PSD county councillor," wrote Buzoianu.
This is not the first time the former minister has flagged this problem. On 3 November, Buzoianu accused the Jiu Basin Water Administration leadership of restricting inspectors' activities by withdrawing the right to use service vehicles. At that time, she criticised both the PSD and the new leadership of the Environment Ministry, after Environment Minister Natalia Intotero announced the continuation of actions against illegal gravel pits.
Source: Cotidianul.ro