Romanian Customs Corruption Case Undermined by Prosecutorial Error

A preliminary court ruling in Romania annulled key evidence in the megaprosecution of customs officials at the Constanța Sud border office. The judge found that the National Anticorruption Directorate (DGA) officers who carried out technical surveillance lacked the legal competence to investigate customs officers, violating procedural law. As a result, fifteen delegation orders were voided and all audio‑video intercepts and related witness statements were excluded from the case file.

The decision forces the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime (DNA) to either rebuild its indictment without the excluded material or risk dismissing the charges. The ruling is being appealed to the Court of Appeal, with a hearing scheduled for August. The case involves alleged bribes of $100‑$700 per container paid by importers to customs staff to expedite customs clearance.

The procedural flaw highlights jurisdictional limits on the DGA, which is only authorized to investigate corruption by Ministry of Interior personnel, not customs officers who fall under the Ministry of Finance.