Environment Ministry awards contracts worth 310 million lei to firm whose founder was investigated in Italy
The Environment Ministry has awarded contracts worth over 310 million lei to SC Orion Europe SRL, whose Italian founder was investigated for links to the Camorra.
Public contracts worth hundreds of millions for a firm with a controversial past
On 30 July 2026, the Environment Ministry signed contract no. 312/2026 with SC Orion Europe SRL for the preventative maintenance of air quality monitoring equipment, at a final price of 1,797,976 lei without VAT — equivalent to approximately 410,910 euros. Jurnalul.ro reports that this is the most recent in a series of at least nine contracts concluded between the ministry and the same company starting in 2021, with a cumulative value of over 310 million lei.
The procurement procedure was launched on 13 April 2026 through an announcement published in the Electronic System of Public Procurement (SEAP), under the direction of USR minister Diana Buzoianu. The initially estimated budget was 1,704,000 lei without VAT. At the open tender organised by the ministry, a single bid was submitted, which was declared admissible, and the contract was signed at the negotiated price of 2,054,551 lei with VAT included.
What the contracted work entails
In accordance with the specification sheet, the contract covers preventative maintenance and provision of consumables for equipment integrated into the National Air Quality Monitoring Network, financed through the Major Infrastructure Operational Programme 2014–2020. The equipment includes 17 cabins with accessories, 24 low-flow samplers for PM2.5, 23 samplers for PM10, 8 high-flow samplers for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and 4 sets of meteorological sensors. These are installed in the counties of Bacău, Bistrița-Năsăud, Botoșani, Brașov, Brăila, Dâmbovița, Galați, Gorj, Harghita, Mehedinți, Olt, Prahova, Sibiu, Tulcea, Vaslui and Vrancea. The technical warranty of the equipment expired in stages between 30 August and 18 December 2025.
Shareholding history of SC Orion Europe SRL
The company was registered at the Commerce Register on 23 September 2006 in Bucharest, with shareholders SC Orion SRL and Biobit SRL and administrators Italian citizen Sergio Solmi and Romanian Mihai Ștefan Angheliu. Until May 2015, Sergio Solmi was among the company's associates alongside Mihai Ștefan Angeliu, SC Biobit SRL and Stefano Solmi. According to a ruling from the Commerce Register dated 23 September 2019, the shareholding structure was simplified: the remaining associates were SC Biobit SRL, held by Mihai Ștefan Angeliu, and Mihai Ștefan Angeliu in his own name.
The Italian founder, investigated for Camorra
According to journalistic investigations published between 2014 and 2016 and cited by Jurnalul.ro, Sergio Solmi was investigated by Italian prosecutors in 2010 in a case involving the misappropriation of funds from an air quality monitoring programme. Italian media reported that the scheme would have been orchestrated by Maurizio Mazzotti, a former regional councillor and head of the municipal administration of Caserta, together with the prefect of Frosinone and Sergio Solmi. Italian prosecutors accused them of rigging a public tender for the installation of air quality monitoring stations in Caserta, and Solmi's Italian firm Orion was associated with the Camorra mafia.
According to the same journalistic sources, both Orion and Biobit have counterparts in Italy with the same names, suggesting a parallel structure between companies in the two countries.
Solmi's withdrawal and contract continuity
In May 2015, Sergio Solmi reportedly withdrew from SC Orion Europe SRL in writing, ceding his stake to Romanian citizen Mihai Ștefan Angeliu. The withdrawal coincided with a period when the company's dealings with Romanian public institutions were already attracting press attention. Nevertheless, contracts with the Environment Ministry continued and expanded: starting in 2021, the cumulative value of agreements signed between the ministry and SC Orion Europe SRL exceeded 310 million lei, according to public data analysed by Jurnalul.ro.
The typology of contracts remained the same — equipment and services for air quality monitoring — a field in which the company has had over a decade of experience in dealings with the Romanian state.
Source: Jurnalul.ro